Staff Reports
The NFL’s decision to put Bad Bunny on the Super Bowl LX halftime stage has blown up into a full-blown cultural fight, and hardworking Americans deserve straight talk about what this means for our national pastime. The show aired on February 8, 2026, and the league’s choice to spotlight a performer who sings primarily in Spanish and has been openly political has predictably angered a lot of fans who just want football and unity on the biggest night in sports.
This controversy didn’t come from nowhere — Bad Bunny’s past comments about ICE raids and his reluctance to tour the U.S. mainland revived legitimate worries among viewers about whether the Super Bowl is being used to promote a political agenda. Conservatives aren’t upset merely because they dislike the music; they’re upset because the NFL keeps sliding away from celebrating common American cultural touchstones toward taking partisan positions that alienate broad swaths of the audience.
The reaction from right-leaning commentators and leaders was swift and vocal, with some calling the performance “un-American” and others organizing alternative programming for viewers who felt betrayed by the league. That pushback even inspired counterprogramming at the same time as the halftime broadcast, a sign that cultural institutions that used to be above the fray are now squarely in the crosshairs of the culture war. The NFL insists it won’t reconsider the pick, but fans remember when the league used to respect its core audience.
Let’s be clear about one thing the mainstream narratives are glossing over: Black Americans, like all Americans, are not monolithic. Social-media threads and community reaction show a mix of pride, indifference, and genuine anger from Black viewers — some felt the performance ignored their preferences, while others celebrated the multicultural message. Conservatives should stop pretending that every complaint is about race and instead recognize that millions of Americans of every background want the Super Bowl to feel like their night, not a political manifesto.
The bigger question is what the NFL thinks it gains by alienating fans. Football’s ratings and loyalty were built on traditions and shared American rituals; turning the halftime show into a platform for identity politics risks shrinking the audience and handing bad-faith actors another wedge to exploit. If the league wants to survive as the Sunday ritual of working families, it should take seriously the message from millions of viewers who are tired of being lectured and want entertainment that unites rather than divides.
Patriots who love this country and love football are right to be upset when our institutions appear to choose ideology over inclusion. This isn’t a call to censor artists; it’s a call for common sense and for the NFL to remember whose living-room TVs pay the bills for the spectacle. If the league keeps marching to the beat of political opportunism, more Americans will opt out — and the people who built the NFL’s success will quietly take their loyalty elsewhere.
