Looking back on Super Bowl XLIV, Fox Sports President David Hill can't help but wince a little.
The reason for this is the Who, and more specifically Pete Townshend's softening belly. "I'm watching them (the Who) going 'oh no, please.' If I saw Pete Townshend's belly again I was going to throw up. In his younger days it might have been rippling muscle but now it's like mine, rippling fat," Hill said. "Poor old Roger [Daltrey] had one of the purest voices, but it's history."
Hill's remarks were accompanied by a bold promise, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times: There will be no AARP members on stage for Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, regardless of how much (or how hard) they used to rock.
Asked if the the halftime entertainment would be under the age of 60, Hill answered "Oh, please God, yes."
The aging rock star has become a familiar sight for viewers of the big game of recent: The Who, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have each taken a turn as halftime performer in the past three years. In 2007, it was Prince; in 2006, it was Paul McCartney.
So if grizzled rock icons aren't the answer, what does Hill want?
The answer is country, and a lot of it. Hill believes the performer should fit the locale; and, according to Hill, "it's kick-ass country down in Texas."
