Bono At The Super Bowl

[pwc606]

I WAS PRETTY SHOCKED TO SEE THAT BONO WAS SINGING AT THE SUPER BOWL YESTERDAY AS OUTSPOKEN AS HE HAS BEEN ON CERTAIN SUBJECTS. I AM NOT A REAL BIG FAN OF HIS TO BE TRUTHFUL ABOUT IT AND WAS JUST WONDERING HOW THE REST OF THE NORMAL WORLD VIEWS HIM? I JUST DO NOT LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS HARSH WORDS FOR MY COUNTRY. HE DID NOT DO ANYTHING FOR ITS FREEDOM THAT I AM AWARE OF SO WHY DOES HE FEEL HE NEEDS TO ????? BELITTLE IT SO? I FOUGHT FOR IT AND WATCHED PEOPLE NEXT TO ME DIE FOR IT. HE DIDN'T, DID HE?

MATT

[DaSharkie]

I thought I was the only one who fealt uncomfortable with this. I guess money is great motivator for someone to change their outlook, for 15 minutes. I guess I'm reminded of a bumper sticker that was popular a few years ago... For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.

Normally I brush off most of these freakish Hollywood flaming liberal communist sympathizers, Ok I feel better now, because these people have an attitude that they are better than we are and know what is right for the "Common Man" and can spak for us. Most people brush them off as well. Don't let them get to you, just keep correcting them along the way.

Also, I was particularly offended by his wearing the Flag as part of his coat lining.

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"I have three heroes now, New York's Bravest, the Firefighters. New York's Finest, the Cops. And the United States Marine Corps. Because, as you know, before this thing is finished, it will be the Marine Corps that will go in and settle the score." - David Letterman.

[Rittner]

I totally agree. I like U2, and I don't have any issue with them as such, but I did think they were an inappropriate choice for the halftime show. I was actually pretty annoyed with the whole theme of the game, which seemed to take this increadibly solemn event, and turn it into a glittery muscial dance number. I just didn't feel comfortable with it at all. I also didn't care much for the footage of the towers collapsing, and the people running down the street in horror to escape the dust and debris, being used as a backdrop for a Barry Manalow medly. The whole thing just seemed pretty disrespectful to me, from start to finish.

Andy

[CollegeBuff]

Also, I was particularly offended by his wearing the Flag as part of his coat lining.

I too will be more impressed by his affinity for our flag when he stops wearing red stars.

[Smoke286]

I wasn't shocked at all in fact, U2 are one of my favourite bands, or perhaps you perfer that Britanny Spears, N'Sync dreck they had on last years half time show. Also I admire Bono and many of the stands he has taken, he's put a lot of time and effort into trying to give something back, when all he had to do was sit on his millions and say nothing. I guess "normal" is relative to your point of view.
Da Sharkie, you should be careful throwing aroud the "communist sympathizer" label, you should be careful, lest someone should pin a right-wing neo-nazi label on you.
Also, Rittner what solem event are you refering to? Or in all the hoopla did you forget that the Superbowl is a GAME?

[truckie_ladderco_147]

Go ahead call me a right wing neo nazi if you like but Bono can kiss my royal Irish ***** thank you very damn much.Solemn event hmmmm lets see a tribute to the fallen?Maybe that is what he meant.The whole heart shaped stage the peacenik song he sang the American flag as his coat lining.Lets see what else has Bono done???Hmmmmmm Tried to get us to forgive third world debt?Has he chipped in any?No not a britney fan nor N'Sync.So dont go there And lets remember one thing here.I can say a lot of things.If I dont back it up(like said singer) then it aint worth spit!Yes its a game but when you are trying to do a tribute to those that have fallen it should be a solemn event.But oh yeah its just a game.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

I felt they could have done a better job at half-time. I posted in an earlier forum that I thought it was really cool when U2 showed the names of the WTC and Pentagon attack victims when I saw them in Chicago in October. Now I am not so sure. It seems to me that something should be heart-felt and not "gimicky" and that is what half-time reminded me of. I disagree with ladderco 147 in his broad generalization of Mr. Bono, but that is what makes are country great. I would have liked to see a few more U.S. artists because it is THE SUPER BOWL! Freedom is not free and hopefully we remember that entertainers are there to entertain not to save the world.(even though they like to think they ARE saving the world).

[DaFAO]

Good god, pmc....
No, Bono didnt fight, but did Brittney, N*Stync, 98 Disease, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, or any other performer weve seen at any of these tribute performances, even the USO Tour? Wasn't it even Brittney Spears herself who voted for the presidential candidate she did only cause her parents did? How stupid did Cason Daley look shooting an M-60 at Ramstein? Truth is, less than 1% of musicians have had anything to do with the armed forces or public safety. Everyone at the Super Bowl was paid millions to make people cheer. They care not for us in public safety, nor for those in the armed forces. They care about $. Thats it.

Don't single out Bono cause he's anti this or pro that. Call out all the performers who take advantage of things.

People like Bono aren't our enemy. Politically apathetic citizens are. And before you jump up and down again, war IS a continuation of politics by other means. Von Clauschwitz said that...Read about him...

[BucksEngine78]

I'll tell you what did bug me: the fact that they stopped the names at "F", like the rest didn't matter. I was right behind the stage when the banner dropped, and I couldn't believe that they did it. Honestly, before it did, I wouldn't have known U2 was on stage at all, I was too busy watching the names.

[Smoke286]

Perhaps you would have prefered they delay the game for an hour, so they could show all the names

[Smoke286]

This whole thread is silly, You are talking about an entertainment event

[DaSharkie]

Smoke 286,

Right wing, YES. Conservative, YES. Anti-communist, Die hard. However, for one to be considered a neo-nazi.....Hmmmmm. Let's see _ Hitler was great? I don't think so. I do not hate Jews. I do not hate homosexuals. I do not dislike Blacks or hispanics. I do despise communism. I do not go around beating thses people because I may or may not like their views, activities, religion or skin color. Unfortunately, when one is a conservative in thses modern times it means we are racists, homophobes and should all just rot and go back to where they came from. Don't accuse me of being a death monger adn liken me to the lowest forms of human garbage that blemish the rest of the human race that are, for the most part, decent people who just want to live a good life. Now, many in Hollywood - NOT ALL - and on the LEFT coast do espouse beliefes that communism and socialism are the great countries to live in. I just disagree with their point and do cast a wide net in my descriptions of them. Deal with it and move on. Life is full of people who have opinions, ideas, and beliefs that you don't like. Get over it.

"I have three heroes now. They are New York's Bravest, the Firefighters. New York's Finest, the cops. And the United States Marine Corps. Because, as you know, before this thing is finished, it will be the Marine Corps who will go in and settle the score." - David Letterman.

SEMPER FI! Dave.

[BucksEng91]

Originally posted by Smoke286
Perhaps you would have prefered they delay the game for an hour, so they could show all the names

No, actually they probably should have just played the damn song instead of pandering to an American audience still dealing with the pain of 9/11 and using the deaths of innocent people to lend false "gravitas" to their performance (hey, remember that word?).

If it was just "entertainment", smoke, then why not just play the song? Isn't Bono entertaining enough without scrolling the names of dead moms, dads, and children behind him?

A new low for limousine liberals everywhere. And aren't these the guys always talking about how corporations are evil? Gee, I wonder how much of Pepsi's blood money they threw back in their face? Or better yet, gave to the Widow's and Children's Fund?

Please.

[pwc606]

I guess I just have a hard time accepting people that believe we deserved the attack that took place. Oh, did I fail to mention that before. It was pointed out to me that Bono had made these comments or comments to the affect of such context. I don't really give a Flip about weather or not Joe Sh** The Rag Man served his country or who said what politician started what war or how they fight them. What does turn my milk yellow in the A.M. is some M.F.ing yahoo sporting the flag for a few dollars in the name of freedom and after making such comments as he did. The citizens of this country should be outraged at the promoters of the Super Bowl as well as U2. They have some of the most radical views and are one the most outspoken bands that is out there. I would have to place them right up there with Richard Gere.

And thats all I have to say about that.

Matt

[twilson]

I really don't have an opinion on U2 playing at halftime but I heard this morning that the NFL wanted to pay them and they refused. On another note they were not the NFl's 1st choice, Janet Jackson was. My understanding is that she didn't commit because there wasn't enought money offered.



Stay Safe!!!

[BucksEng91]

Whether or not they took money to "do" the Super Bowl, they played sandwiched literally and figuratively between Pepsi and Budweiser ads (which were great, by the way...especially the Bud Clydesdales "Respect" ad). So much for resistance to the scourge of global capitalism, huh?

They 'elevated' their performance by scrolling the names of murdered Americans behind them, but they stopped scrolling less than halfway through. What that tells me is that the style was obviously much more important than the substance. The actual act of paying respect to the dead by showing their names was not the point - the point was to pander to an American audience by feigning concern and connection with the events of this past September. If the band actually felt strongly enough about it (like they do about socialism, for example), they WOULD have scrolled every last name, regardless of time constraint. F*ck the man, and all that, right? But they don't feel that strongly, obviously. What they do feel strongly about is how they LOOK, and they used the names of dead Americans to lend a significance to the performance that wouldn't have been there otherwise. If you're not just a little uneasy about that, then I don't know what else to say.

There was a previous thread on the forums where someone brought up the fact that U2 has done this scrolling thing at their concerts since 9/11. I strongly suspected, even before the Super Bowl, that this was not so much an act of respect but an act of pandering, by opportunists who prior to the terrorist attack on our country had very few positive things to say about America and Americans. Watching them do it during the halftime show, where they stopped the list not even halfway through due to time constraints, confirmed my opinion.

[Smoke286]

Bucks, if you think about it what your saying doesnt really make sense. As I understand it the screen with the scrolling names is part of U2's touring kit, and takes considerably long then the time constraints of the superbowl halftime show to go through. Or perhaps you really are niave enough to believe they would have delayed the superbowl to travel right through the list. I'd go along with it, I would have found a two hour U2 concert very entertain, but I'm not sure all the football fans would have(Well not really I've been waiting 25 years for the Pats to win. If you read through this thread, its funny how many ppl are using this event for a springboard for their political agenda.

[DaSharkie]

I'm not using it as a springboard for my political agenda. I just believe that the NFL could have chosen someone that believes a little more strongly in the greatness fo the United States of America adn not badmouthing their host country and the manner in which we behave or act because they feel ti is the wrong way to act.

[BucksEng91]

Originally posted by Smoke286
Bucks, if you think about it what your saying doesnt really make sense. As I understand it the screen with the scrolling names is part of U2's touring kit, and takes considerably long then the time constraints of the superbowl halftime show to go through. Or perhaps you really are niave enough to believe they would have delayed the superbowl to travel right through the list. I'd go along with it, I would have found a two hour U2 concert very entertain, but I'm not sure all the football fans would have(Well not really I've been waiting 25 years for the Pats to win. If you read through this thread, its funny how many ppl are using this event for a springboard for their political agenda.

No, what YOU'RE saying doesn't really make sense. If it is THAT important to Bono and the boys to pay respect to the dead, then they could have played just ONE long song, and scrolled the entire list. OR, they could have started the scroll from the second they stepped on stage. But the respect is OBVIOUSLY not the point. The point is the significance and self-glorification that comes with their associating themselves with the tragedy of 9/11. Prior to 9/11, this band, and particularly its lead singer, couldn't say one good thing about America or Americans. In fact, I can cite at least one song that is directly critical of the United States.

And you know what? That is COMPLETELY A-OK. They are entitled to their opinions, and they have a right, in this country at least, to express them, no matter how vile or misplaced anyone thinks they might be. It's what still sets this nation apart from just about every other on the face of the earth.

And this is why it's repugnant, to me, for these guys to now be USING (and I mean that in the worst possible sense of the word) the still-strong emotions connected with the terrorist attacks in such a gut-wrenching way as to display the names of the dead while they play one of their cookie-cutter songs. It's repugnant for Bono to display the stars and stripes when on 9/10 you would have just as well seen him wiping his *** with them.

These guys are phonies and fakes, and if they had the real strength of their convictions (anti-capitalist, anti-corporate, and anti-American), they wouldn't have played at an event like the Super Bowl sandwiched between Britney Spears Pepsi and AT&T Wireless ads. They are self-promoting whores who have glommed onto a national tragedy for Americans and are now using it as just one more special effect in their live light show - wow, here's some lasers...wow, here's Bono with a hand-held camera...wow, look - they're displaying the names of the murdered Americans...

Oops, time constraint, we won't be able to show all the names...aaaa, what the hell, we don't really care about showing them all, just as long as the first few are seen so ignorant people will think that we're just the greatest, most compassionate people. Hey! Here's another idea - I'll wear a jacket that has the Stars and Stripes sewn into the liner, and I'll show it at the end of the set. What's that? I hate the Stars and Stripes? Yeah, yeah, I know, but that was yesterday. Besides, the people in the audience don't have to know that. And even if they do, they'll still buy my CDs, and come to my concert, sponsored by those evil, Nazi capitalist corporations.

Smoke, it's obvious you're a U2 fan. That's great. Believe it or not, so am I. I like their music. But don't let it blind you to the reality - they are USING us, and pandering to us. And if I were a family member of one of those murdered, I would demand that they stop using my mom's/dad's/child's name for their own self-promotion.

[SFD13]

Smoke, it's obvious you're a U2 fan. That's great. Believe it or not, so am I. I like their music. But don't let it blind you to the reality - they are USING us, and pandering to us. And if I were a family member of one of those murdered, I would demand that they stop using my mom's/dad's/child's name for their own self-promotion.

You could say that Bud "respect" COMMERCIAL is using 9-11 to sell more beer to us.

Time you woke up, a lot of people are already trying to use 9-11 to make money. Movies are already in the planning stages.

Just an opinion from Socialist Canada.