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Gridiron Grooves: The Top Super Bowl Halftime Shows during San Francisco 49ers' Games
By Jeremy Strause
February 3rd, 2024
As the two of the best teams on the gridiron clash during the Super Bowl, there's another spectacle during the intermission; the halftime show. For the fans of the San Francisco 49ers, looking back on these shows provides us with a hint of nostalgia, intertwining with the memories of amazing championships with heart-wrenching losses. From electrifying performances that left the audience in shock to shows that fell flat, join me as I rank and revisit every Super Bowl Halftime Show that features the iconic San Francisco 49ers.
7th Place: Elvis Presto in Super Bowl 23
The year is 1989, and the San Francisco 49ers are facing the Cincinnati Bengals in Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. Going into halftime, both teams displayed some of the worst offense seen in the Super Bowl. The game was knotted at 3-3. The halftime show was a great resemblance of the first half: a terrible performance.
At the time, Elvis Presley had been dead for around 11 years. I don’t know if they had planned years ahead of time that Presley was going to be performing at this halftime show because they brought out an impersonator. Elvis Presto was his name. Watching this made me want to click off right away. Presto is the guy you hire to do a performance at a little kids birthday party, not at the Super Bowl. The funniest part of it all was that no Elvis Presley Song was even played. They just played some random music you would see in a car commercial nowadays. The only good part about this performance was that the guy did have a slight resemblance of Elvis Presley. Other than that, it was a painful watch.
Rob Brown via Getty Images
6th Place: Indiana Jones in Super Bowl 29
The 1994-95 season saw Steve Young carry his 49ers squad to the best record in the NFL at 13-3. This 49ers team was something special. After the failure of losing two consecutive NFC Championships, the 49ers steamrolled through the competition into the Super Bowl. The spread for this game was -19 for the 49ers. To take that into perspective, the spread in this year's Super Bowl is -2. Even though the spread seemed disrespectful to the Chargers, it ended up being correct. In the first half, the 49ers jumped out to a 28-10 lead.
This Super Bowl halftime show was extremely questionable. Disney once again hosted the event. In honor of the new Indiana Jones adventure ride in Disneyland, the halftime show featured a huge Indiana Jones fight scene. Although this show was headlined by Patti Labelle and Tony Bennett, they were completely outshined by Indiana Jones action scenes. During the performance, Labelle and Bennett were placed right in the center and were kind of just in the way. The singing was alright, but the Indiana Jones action made me cringe so hard. This was a huge let down after the previous year's show was Tanya Tucker and the year before was Michael Jackson, which is why it’s my 6th best.
5th Place: Peanuts and the Rest in Super Bowl
In 1990, after a great Super Bowl win for the 49ers, they were blowing out the Denver Broncos 27-3 in New Orleans. The game wasn’t a great one, and the Super Bowl halftime show once again matched it.
The halftime show was supposed to have a New Orleans theme to it. They had a bunch of college jazz bands on the field performing. However, the headline performer of this show was not a big time musician; it was the Peanuts. You heard me right, a bunch of cartoon characters headlined a performance. The music was meh and the performance was terrible. The characters were dancing and doing all that, but it looked so goofy because they were in these huge cartoon costumes. Watching this show made me think I was hallucinating the entire time. The only reason it’s not last is due to the fact that it wasn’t disrespectful towards a legend (see Elvis Presto).
4th Place: World of Children Dreams in Super Bowl 19
In 1984, the 49ers finished the regular season 15-1, coached up by Bill Walsh and led by legend Joe Montana. In Super Bowl 19, the 49ers were basically the host to it, as the game was 40 minutes south of San Francisco. The 49ers were playing like they had a home field advantage, holding a 28-16 lead at half.
The performance during halftime was led by Air Force ensemble Tops in Blue. The band is made up of active, retired Air Force. The music was actually very solid and very fun to hear. The performance actually had some very cool moments, with the fighter jets flying over Palo Alto, Apollo 11 and an astronaut flying with a jetpack. The problem I have is with the theme. The theme was World of Children Dreams, but it seems like it got outshined. During the performance, there were a bunch of kids on random objects that I guess played into their imagination. It seemed that there were two different performances going on at the same time. All of the decorations were all over the place but it had solid music and cool looking decorations.
Ben Olender/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
3rd Place: Up With People in Super Bowl 16
1981-1982 was the start of a dynasty for the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers went 13-3 in this season, the leagues best. This success came as a huge surprise to most as the year before, they went 6-10, and the year before that, the 49ers won a mere two games. In the big game, the first half saw a dominating performance from the 49ers, as they led 20-0, the biggest margin in the history of a Super Bowl’s first half.
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
This was the first Super Bowl to be featured in a midwestern state. Detroit was lucky to see this performance. Up until this point, the halftime show wasn’t seen as a big deal. This is when the tide started to shift. Up until this game, the halftime show didn’t have themes and only featured collegiate bands. This performance featured the famous band Up with People. Up with People were on tour during this performance, and this was just one of their many historical stops. They sang all of their hit songs, and had some very solid choreography. The music was patriotic and catchy, so it stuck out. This is the first halftime show I was able to watch in whole without cringing or being in disgust. For that, it gets to be in the top three.
2nd place: Jenifer Lopez and Shakira in Super Bowl 54
Going into the season, the 49ers had low expectations. After a painful 4-12 record the year before and a winning season drought going back to 2013, everybody was shocked to see the 49ers make it deep into the playoffs. They shocked the world by going to the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl, the Chiefs were no easy matchup. The evenness in skill showed as the game going into the half was tied up at 10-10.
My expectations going into the halftime show were actually very low. At the time, Jennifer Lopez was 50 and Shakira was 43, so I didn’t know if they had the youth to pull off an electrifying halftime show. I was gladly wrong. Shakira pulled off some very impressive choreography and stunts. Jennifer Lopez, although headlining, played more of a number two role, which I think made this performance better. All of their hits songs were played and just had amazing energy. The guest performer JBalvin also had a very solid role in the show. The show was just so much fun to watch and put a smile on my face. Everything was gelling and going so smoothly, but it will have to stay at two because number one is unbeatable.
1st Place: Beyonce in Super Bowl 47
Being led by backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick and a stout defense, the 49ers had a special team in 2012-2013. Although on paper the team didn’t look amazing, the team was gritty and could win games. In the Super Bowl, the matchup was highlighted by brothers Jim and John Harbaugh squaring off against one another in the “Har-bowl.” The Ravens had a great team and the 49ers really struggled in the first half, going down 21-6.
This year, the halftime show was incredible. When you are listing the pinnacle of halftime shows, this is the first show you mention. Everybody going into the halftime show had high expectations because it’s Beyonce. How could you not have high expectations for Beyonce? Even though expectations were high, she somehow managed to exceed these expectations by a substantial amount. The songs were immaculate. Being able to pull off the notes while dancing separates her from other artists. The stunts being pulled off were incredible. Everything about the show was perfect, and that is why it’s number one.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
In the symphony of Super Bowl Halftime Shows, those featuring the San Francisco 49ers have been filled with highs and lows, from lackluster impersonations to electrifying vocals. From Elvis Presto's awkward rendition to Beyoncé's flawless performance, these shows serve as both a reflection of the team's journey and a testament to the enduring power of halftime entertainment.