Never in the history of the halftime show has a single song been as fitting for a Super Bowl as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
Just before the Boss and his E Street Band took the stage in Tampa, the Steelers’ James Harrison returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, and the adrenaline from that historic play carried into Springsteen’s four-song set.
The man and his band hit the stage running. With just 12 minutes allotted to music by Bruce and the boys – they actually took 13 1/2 minutes, if you were counting – there wasn’t time to build a fire slow.
In his best preacher-man intonations, Springsteen advised viewers to “put the chicken fingers down and turn the television up.”
With priorities adjusted to the music, the band launched its classic “10th Avenue Freeze-Out,” which chronicles how the E Street sound first came together.
With saxophonist Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons blasting the tune’s crisp solo, and Springsteen singing to his pal and not the audience, the band chemistry was quickly established.
The tie that binds these two musicians was even more apparent in “Born to Run,” where Clemons’ sax was the essential element.
Springsteen knew that this was going to be the biggest gig he ever played, and he took the opportunity to step away from his tried-and-true songbook to perform the title track to “Working on a Dream,” which was released earlier this week.
At the start of the game, the Super Bowl showed its patriotism with Faith Hill and a choir working a powerful if plain take on “America the Beautiful.”
Jennifer Hudson added her vocal acrobatics to an R&B cover of the national anthem. Francis Scott Key didn’t write all the notes she sang, but I think he would have approved.
