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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   7616 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026

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There are often attempts to emulate American half-time entertainment for European sports (like football) for the big championships, but they never really get off the ground.

And reading all this about the Superbowl half-time show, I'm rather glad they fail. People don't tune in to the Champions League final to see people simulating sex to sultry Latin rhythms (not that I'd put it past UEFA to try that, though God alone knows what FIFA have planned for the World Cup seeing as how, like the Trinity, it is going to be three locations in one contest co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico).

Okay, there is always an official World Cup song but that can be good (depending on the artist) and countries may have their own song (historically, 'sung' by the representative team, though England did up their game with Three Lions in 1996 when they were hosting the UEFA European Championship).

I don't even want to imagine what kind of awful Europop plus fake gangsta rap/hiphop dancing they'd serve up as entertainment. They do have something as pre-match entertainment, but most people don't bother watching that until the game starts. Seems like it was Linkin Park last year for the Champions League? As this article tactfully puts it:

UEFA, also inspired by the NFL's Super Bowl halftime show, has had limited success with incorporating music acts into its showpiece event.

Some broadcasters have opted not to broadcast the concerts live, choosing instead to focus on the pundits discussing the upcoming match in their studio.

EDIT: Oh, God. There's an Official World Cup Theme, to be remixed by producers in the host cities. And it's as dire as you might fear. No wonder people are trying to create fan remixes and updates of Waka Waka.

We already have the Eurovision song contest. We don’t need another one.

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