MrPopup

Thats right baby....we're in charge of this years entertainment !!!!

Don't blame us if it sucks....blame the producers!

But remember, when your hand is on your heart, and you're proudly singing along...a Canadian is leading the way.

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Red and white without the blue

Forget God Bless America -- the entertainment
at this year's Super Bowl might as well be singing
O Canada, reports REBECCA CALDWELL


By REBECCA CALDWELL
Saturday, January 25, 2003 ? Page R2


Picture this: a squadron of U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets flys overhead in a dazzling display of military might and precision while a joint military services colour guard marches forward, flags rippling. Service veterans and volunteers re-enact scenes from America's seven major wars.

Then, in a quiet moment, in the middle of this spectacle emerges . . . Celine Dion. Singing God Bless America.

No, it's not her new Vegas show. Nor is she bidding the boys farewell en route to Iraq. It's part of the entertainment scheduled for tomorrow's pregame show at the Super Bowl, where a predicted 130 million Americans and an additional 800 million people around the world will tune in to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Oakland Raiders.

And Dion's not the only Canadian getting into the game. Shania Twain, Canada's other international superstar, is headlining the halftime concert, which also features Sting and No Doubt.

Super Bowl halftime and pregame shows have come a long way since the marching bands from the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan took to the field in 1966.

In the past, stars such as Aerosmith, Wynton Marsalis, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond and Bob Hope have made the gridiron their own.

But with the notable exception of last year's concert featuring Irish superband U2, the halftime shows have rarely strayed from showcasing red-blooded Americans at the red, white and blue events.

With some pundits reasoning that the patriotic spirit roused at this year's greatest football game may be the pep rally that carries the country into a war, why a couple of Maple Leaves amid all the star-spangled banners?

"Well, obviously they're talented," said Jim Steeg, the National Football League vice-president in charge of planning the Super Bowl.

"Last year we were extremely patriotic in everything we did because we were coming off of Sept. 11," Steeg added later. "But it is not as much this year as it was last year. It's still there, but it's not as great an emphasis."

After her moving rendition of God Bless America at a Sept. 11 tribute immediately following the terrorist attacks, Dion was actually the NFL's first pick for last year's Super Bowl show.

"We knew we wanted to get her involved somehow -- when she sang God Bless America at the event after Sept. 11, we thought that was great. We talked to her immediately after that, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. She wasn't performing or doing anything at the time. She wanted to wait till she had her debut in Las Vegas.

But she said at the time, 'Give me a call next year, because I'm definitely interested.' And this September we called her."

In the case of Twain, says Steeg, the NFL was happy when her manager Peter Mensch called them at the end of November hoping for a spot to promote her latest album, Up!.

"Her last record is both country and rock 'n' roll, she did the two versions of it. So there's a crossover into different areas, which we thought was important because the Super Bowl appeals to a cross section, not just one demographic group."

Twain certainly appears able to get 'em all good. Up!, a pop-rock-country melange, managed to be the top seller of 2002 even with a November release date. Her halftime performance at last fall's Grey Cup was instrumental in keeping the potatoes on the couches, says Nancy Lee, head of CBC Sports. The Grey Cup broadcast ended up garnering 5.263 million viewers -- the highest ratings ever.

Michael Sievert, head of marketing for AT&T Wireless, the Super Bowl halftime show sponsor, thinks Twain will have a similar impact this time around. "I can't imagine anyone getting up to go to the refrigerator with Shania Twain performing on the 50-yard line," he told The Canadian Press.

The performance will make Twain the first Canadian to perform at both the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl in the same season -- although she won't need the big yellow parka she was wearing at the Edmonton game. She'll also be hosting the Junos in March.

Also on the entertainment roster are the Dixie Chicks singing the national anthem, Carlos Santana, Michelle Branch, Beyoncé Knowles and Bon Jovi, to name but a few.

With the Super Bowl increasingly becoming better known for its hot stars and flashy, Zeitgeist-laden TV ads that cost upward of $73,300 (U.S.) a second, some say the actual football game is the least important part of the event.

"In this country, the number of people watching is 130-million plus, which is certainly greater than what we get for a normal game," says Steeg. "We're getting a lot of casual fans, and the entertainment is a very significant part of that."

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