On February 9, 2026, the day after the Super Bowl, I posted the following:
I look forward to the day when the halftime show will not feature butts and I will understand the words.
Obviously, I am not the target audience.
A few years ago, I did come to the realization that I was
not the target audience for the halftime show. And, I never was going to be.
That is fine. Like Gloria Gaynor, I will survive.
My apprehension about the halftime show began in 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake showed a brief, but certain "wardrobe malfunction." Through the years, the NFL has demonstrated less and less concern for the halftime show to be "family-friendly" as if they have no responsibility in that regard.
In 2020, as Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were shaking all about, it came across to me as an objectification of women. Especially when the cameras were focusing and zooming in on the butt, crotch, and chest. So, “no, thank you,” is my answer. I don’t want to watch that and I choose not to.
Previous halftime shows of Kendrick, Usher, The Weeknd, and others are rather meaningless to me, because I don’t understand the words that are being said. Perhaps I could if they included closed captioning. In general, it is why I don’t enjoy rap or opera for that matter (but at least with opera I am able to know the story ahead of time).
This brings us to Bad Bunny. We were told that he is immensely popular nowadays. That is probably why I never heard of him, even though I work with university students. I obviously hang around the wrong ones.
I did research and I was directed to two of his songs. I read the translations of "Titi Me Pregunto" and "Safaera." They are astonishingly crude and vulgar. To trust a man like this with the halftime show, one should question the sanity of it all. The NFL is consistent though. They don't care about these things. I may be in the minority, but I still think that character counts.
Now let's add the issue of communication. Bad Bunny did the presentation in Spanish. If it is your desire to be clear in your communication in the United States, your best bet is to use English. We call that common sense. If you want the majority of your listeners to understand what you are saying, you use the language that they use. If your desire is not to be clear to your typical listener, then use Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Tagalog, or whatever.
I do not apologize whatsoever for desiring communication to be clear. I communicate for a living. I have no desire to leave anyone guessing what I mean in any given situation. I take responsibility for my communication even when someone receives it differently than what I had intended. Clarity is my goal.
Even more, I do not apologize whatsoever in believing in the sacredness of sexuality and marriage. I believe that when they are given the respect and honor that they deserve, families will be stronger and society will be healthier.
Contrary to some criticisms (some dressed up as concerns), I have nothing bad to say about the Spanish language or Puerto Rico. I do not have any qualms about the genre of Latino music (what's not to like - the beat is crazy cool). I have a lot of Latino friends that are important to me. I have a grandson who is half Puerto Rican. His other grandparents are wonderful people and I am glad that they are in my life.
This all being said, I will continue to stand on the important principles of character and clarity. And I will continue to desire halftime shows to be "family-friendly" because 100 million people watch them, a great majority as families. As far as I am concerned, like so many halftime shows before him, Bad Bunny failed.
Perhaps next year, we can get Bugs Bunny instead.
That would be fun.
