Super-Size Halftime Shows

I just finished reading a Sports Illustrated article from the great Peter King about Super Bowl XLV and noticed a tidbit about how the Black Eyed Peas contributed to Green Bay's win.  Well, that's not entirely accurate.  The Black Eyed Peas were simply continuing a tradition as old as the game itself: the super-long Super Bowl halftime show.

If you remember, both Charles Woodson and Sam Shields were injured at the end of the first half, leaving the Packer defense very much in limbo as it entered the locker room.  In King's article, Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers says "You know how we got lucky?  That long halftime show. It gave us a chance to diagnose the guys and find out who we'd have in the second half, and when we did, it allowed us to fix our calls and figure out what we were going to do." 

Surprisingly, an NFL halftime is a mere 12 minutes long.  Forget the "win one for the Gipper" and Pacino-esque motivational speeches; a normal halftime is just long enough for a player to run to the bathroom, get his ankles re-taped, meet with his position coach and then get a few quick words from his head coach before he runs back on the field.  Yet, in the Super Bowl, that break is extended to a whopping 30 minutes to make room for the halftime show.

For Green Bay, that extra time was extremely beneficial.  But you just have to look back to last year to see the downside of the long break.  Dwight Freeney played like his all-pro-self in the first half of Super Bowl XLIV despite a significant ankle injury.  But while sitting in the locker room for a half hour during The Who's performance, his ankle stiffened up and he struggled in the second half as the game slipped away from the Colts.  

It's interesting to see that a year after Indianapolis was hurt by the long halftime show, Green Bay was able to use it to their advantage.   It's not surprising that the team that benefited from the extra time was the one who was able to hold onto its lead.

Image found here.