Can you imagine "Weird Al" Yankovic performing during the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show? Well, that's the idea one petitioner is trying to plant into the minds of "Weird Al" fans and the NFL.
The Change.org petition was started by Washington-based Ed Ball, a man who, admittedly, was drunk when drafting the language for his petition. In it he writes, "Having ['Weird Al'] headline the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show. [sic] would not only be overly accepted by the millions of views, but it would remain true to the standards and quality of the show business."
Drunk or not, Ball's petition has gotten some serious attention — he's gotten more than 80,000 signatures. So, how likely is it we'll see a "Fat" or "Amish Paradise" performance during Super Bowl XLIX?
Let's say Ball gets the signatures he needs. Then what? A Change.org customer support manager commented in 2011 once a petition reaches its goal, "an email gets sent to the target of the petition." In Ball's case, that's NFL management.
But thousands of signatures from "Weird Al" fans won't exactly get him to the stage — the NFL will most likely have to reach out to him. Before Bruno Mars' performance at Super Bowl XLIII, the pop singer told Forbes he got a call from the NFL about a possible Super Bowl gig. A sports consultant also told the magazine, "There aren’t that many acts like [Bruno Mars]... and the NFL has been going through most of them. You don’t want to recycle." (Video via "Weird Al" Yankovic / RCA Records)
Considering those points, "Weird Al" fans can check two boxes: he's definitely one of a kind and he's never performed at the Super Bowl.
Regarding star power, "Weird Al" isn't as big as a Michael Jackson, or Beyonce, or Prince, or Madonna, but the '90s-era parody musician has shown he's still got chops.
His recently-released 14th album, "Mandatory Fun," topped the Billboard 200 in late July, selling 104,000 copies in its first week.
And he might be annoying and a bit old-school to some, but, as we previously reported, "Weird Al" found a way to connect to the social-media-savvy generation. He partnered with different content distributors — like VEVO and CollegeHumor — to release eight new videos in eight days.
Maybe more important than his credentials, if the opportunity knocked, "Weird Al" said this: "Sure, if they asked."
Even though the Super Bowl isn't until next year, it looks like "Weird Al" is already seeing some competition. Thrash metal band GWAR and rock band The Killers are the center of two other respective petitions on Change.org. Billboard is also conducting a poll of who should be selected to perform. Notably absent: "Weird Al" Yankovic.
But "Weird Al" fans still have time to make their case. Super Bowl XLIX kicks off in Glendale, Arizona Feb.1.
This video contains images from Getty Images.
