Move over, Madonna. If a new online petition is successful, “Weird Al” Yankovic will be the next Super Bowl halftime show act.
The famous parodist has already garnered 1,000 signatures to play at Super Bowl 47 in New Orleans and has plenty of time left to reach the goal of 1 million.
“Geeks and nerds are currently at the leading edge of popular culture, a trend that doesn’t show signs of ending any time soon,” blogged Storm DiCostanzo, who’s helping spearhead the movement. “[T]here’s no reason a strong net consensus can’t help the NFL see the basic wisdom of having “Weird Al” Yankovic as the featured entertainer for the Super Bowl XLVII Half Time Show.”
Yankovic would actually be a solid choice for the big game. His parody accounts have hijacked the best moments of pop culture for close to three decades, meaning he could pack more hits into 6 minutes than even the Queen of Pop herself.
“I don’t usually like to talk politics in public, but the #WeirdAlSuperBowl movement has my full support,” tweeted @TomGriffin.
Fans have started using the hashtag #weirdalsuperbowl on Twitter, and created a Facebook page to raise awareness.
Fan-driven initiatives to choose halftime music for the NFL don’t have much history of success. This past season, more than 55,000 fans signed a petition to keep Nickelback from playing at halftime at a Detroit Lions game on Thanksgiving Day.
The widely disliked band played anyway. They were, however, showered with boos as they performed, and were held to a single song.
Keeping Nickelback from playing was a tricky maneuver, however, since the petition started after the band was signed. If past years are any indication, it likely will be months before the NFL will sign a band for next year’s Super Bowl.
To quote the pop parodist, “Dare to be stupid.”
Image from PaulandStorm.com
