Prepare for what?

By Douglas J. Hagmann

3 February 2014: The opening of the halftime show for last night’s Super Bowl featured a group of children holding hands while standing in front of a large digital display flashing various images, beginning with portions of the American flag. The children began singing the lyrics from the song “Billionaire.” Well, not quite the exact lyrics, as they are neither suitable for children nor the venue.

They began with the second set of lyrics, modified to the following:


Oh, every time I close my eyes

I see my name in shining lights

Yeah, a different city every night

Oh, I swear the world better prepare, prepare, prepare.

As they sang the word “prepare,” the digital backdrop image changed from the American flag to the word “prepare” in large red letters, as shown here:



I’m certain that to the average person of normal sensibilities, the opening minute during which this was performed seemed nothing more than a lead-in to the performance of Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Something that a person would not think twice about, and certainly something that a “normal person” would not chose to write about. Except for one thing…

Knowing that every word, every on-air utterance, every on-camera movement is choreographed and done with much thought and for a specific purpose, this one-minute performance that specifically served to open the halftime show seemed contextually out of place.

Under “normal” circumstances, I would regard any reference, including my own, to this golden moment of the most watched event in America as misplaced paranoia of someone who sees conspiracies behind every event. In fact, I almost disregarded it completely, except that I received several e-mails from people watching the Super Bowl asking, nearly in unison, “what was that all about? Prepare for what?” The e-mails I received caused me to take another look at that opening performance in the context of the entire halftime show. I must admit that I am hard pressed to understand how this opening segment, one that sets the tone for the halftime show, logically fits within any sensible realm.

Given the performances we’ve seen from previous Super Bowls, including but not limited to the symbolism that some ascribe to covert agendas, I’ll be the first to take the risk by stepping out into the mainstream up and ask the question… What was that all about?


Credit to Hagmann and Hagmann report