We noted last month that there’s speculation that Van Halen will perform the next Super Bowl halftime show. Lead singer David Lee Roth says the band hasn’t been offered the gig, but they’ll jump at the chance if asked.
Roth issued a statement via the website Van Halen News Desk (pretty sure this is the first time we’ve linked to that site at PFT) in which he described working Super Bowl halftime as a dream job.
“I’m compelled to address the now-rampant rumors that Van Halen is playing the Superbowl,” Roth wrote, apparently unaware that “Super Bowl” is two words. “First of all let me say this — be still my pigskin heart. That honor has not been bestowed upon us at this time though it is one we would accept in a NY minute.”
Roth noted that Van Halen songs are routinely played at stadiums during games and said he’d be thrilled to appear on the NFL’s biggest stage.
“Playing at the Superbowl is a veritable holy grail of musical recognition, a highly prized rite of passage for (game-changing) artists. Not a spiritual rite with snake pits or Hebrew school or anything, but it’s up there,” Roth wrote. “We are not on Commissioner Goodell’s dance card at this time, but we would be most honored to dance the halftime away in New Orleans.”
Roth will be 57 before the Super Bowl and Eddie Van Halen will be 58, so they’d be in the right age range that the NFL seems to like for its Super Bowl halftime shows, which have featured the likes of Madonna, The Who, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty recently. I think a musician with New Orleans roots would make more sense for next year’s show, but from the NFL’s perspective, Van Halen looks like the right fit.