Sports

In 2010, it was The Who. 2011 brought The Black Eyed Peas. This year was Madonna. Next year's rumored Super Bowl halftime show performer? Van Halen.

Look, I'm not saying the halftime show needs to cater to my own personal taste, but what's with the weaksauce bands that are either a little too long in the tooth (Madonna) or downright annoying (Madonna)?

I mean, is anyone else getting nostalgic for Janet Jackson's nipple?

Love it or hate it, the Super Bowl halftime show is consistently one of the most watched events on American television. Last year's show -- featuring Madonna, her slightly rickety dance moves, and MIA's middle finger -- was the most-watched show ever. 114 million viewers tuned in, which is about 3 million more than the actual game attracted.

I'm sure it's a nightmare task trying to strategize the top recording artist for the show, knowing that no matter what, at least SOME people are going to complain. (Hi!) They've done a pretty good job over the years of representing a number of music genres, including pop, rock, classic rock, country, hip hop, rap, blues, and soul -- and you know the fact that they try to mix in younger artists along with the main dinosaur onstage is a deliberate ploy to appeal to a broader audience.

Still, I feel pretty meh about the idea of Van Halen headlining the 2013 show. Not that it's a done deal, but Eddie Van Halen dropped a pretty big hint in a recent interview with USA Today:

[I]n November, we’ll hit Japan, and in the new year, we’ll possibly do something special, but I can’t talk about it.

Seriously, what sort of mega top-secret event could Van Halen have under wraps, if not the Super Bowl? Unless maybe they're planning to trot out a hologram performance from David Lee Roth … oh wait, he's still alive. Never mind.

Well, if nothing else, a Van Halen performance will surely be nostalgic for us aging viewers who have fond (if clouded by the mists of time) memories of "Right Now," "Jump" and "Runnin' With the Devil." Plus, I can think of a few creative ideas for including those perky NFL cheerleaders in a T&A-centric rendition of "Hot for Teacher."

What do you think about the possibility of Van Halen performing at the 2013 Super Bowl?

Image via Flickr/tedkerwin