Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show, the NFL and NBC announced Sunday night.
Continuing a run of major talent that has lately included the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the American football championship game — which is also the biggest television event in the U.S. — will showcase one of its most beloved rock 'n' roll artists.
The Super Bowl will be played Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Last year's halftime show was watched by more than 148 million viewers in the U.S., the NFL said in a statement. It wasn't always that way: For years, the game's halftime show was made up of local and college marching bands and drill teams.
In 1988, Chubby Checker was the first popular musician to perform at halftime, and Michael Jackson upped the ante in 1993. His sister Janet provided the show's most infamous moment with 2004's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction" — and the show has stuck with straight ahead rock acts ever since.
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