Broadcast to nearly 1 billion people in over 230 countries and territories worldwide, the Super Bowl is the marquee event of American sport and television. The Holy Grail of sporting events was held on Sunday February 3rd, 2008, but before Tom Brady and his
New England Patriots took to the field against Eli Manning and the
New York Giants on Sunday, a
galaxy of stars are already descending on
Arizona to get the party started early. Everybody loves good music and the Super Bowl provides plenty of it. This years' Super Bowl is sure to be considered one of the best. Everyone looks forward to the Half time show and this year's show was one to remember with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rocking the arena of 70,000 people.
In recent years, the halftime show has seen the likes of
The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and
Prince.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are considered one of the America's great rock and roll bands and they are already members of Rock and Roll's Hall of Fame. The group is still going strong after releasing its debut album back in 1976 and has sold more than 50 million records. And the band members took this occasion to announce they will tour the United States and Canada in the upcoming months.
Petty said it did not take long for he and his bandmates to say yes when they were invited to be the Super Bowl halftime musical performers. "It's mind-blowing [awesome]," Petty said. "It's something that I never even dreamed of. It never crossed my mind, but it's very exciting. We've had quite a week already. It's really something." Organizers say 56 carts of equipment must be hauled onto the field to put on the Super Bowl halftime show, and without some three thousand local volunteers, it could not be done. Petty said it was really challenging to select what songs from the band's lengthy career to perform.
"We tried to pick the ones that would take you somewhere in that amount of time," he explained. "It's a little bit of a challenge and we've had to kind of rearrange some things, make some a little bit shorter to fit in. But I think we've chosen a good set."
The show started with a giant neon heart being pierced by a guitar-shaped arrow and then explosions, and that's how Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers entered the Super Bowl. Petty performed four songs in just under 13 minutes, opening with "American Girl." The band played "I Won't Back Down" as the lyrics to the song and guitar necks were shown on huge screens behind them. The audience swayed to the beat with tiny lights in their hands as Petty played "Free Fallin'." Petty closed the set with "Runnin' Down A Dream" while purple and green lights swirled on the opposite end of the field. The show was a spectacle of lights and went off without a hitch. The game was one for the record books and the music was great, all components that make a truly great Super Bowl.
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