The Super Bowl halftime show has come a long way since the big game began in 1967. What started out as a glorified bathrook break for the majority of people has now turned into must-see TV with the biggest stars taking the stage to put together what they hope to be a memorable 15-minute performance in front of millions of viewers.
For a long time, Kansas City Chiefs fans watched the Super Bowl halftime show because it's what everyone was doing that night. In recent times, however, Chiefs fans are watching the big game because their team is in it. The halftime show isn't something fans might pay as close attention to given the nerves of watching their team play in the Super Bowl but there have been some great performances in the games the Chiefs have played in.
With Super Bowl LIX and a performance from Kendrick Lamar on the horizon, let's go back in time and rank every halftime show from Chiefs' Super Bowl appearances.
6. Marguerite Piazza, Doc Severinsen, Lairen & Tara, Al Hirt, Lionel Hampton, Carol Channing, and Southern University Marching Band (Super Bowl IV)
A lot of you are probably thinking, "What the hell?" when looking at the list of names that headlined Super Bowl IV but you have to remember that up through 1990, Super Bowl halftime shows weren't what they are now. The early years consisted of college marching bands playing their hearts out but for most people at that time, it was likely time to hit the bathroom and reload on snacks.
What also works against these old performances is that the quality is bad so it's hard to really understand what was going on. I'm sure in its time, this performance was lovely but it doesn't hold up to what we expect from Super Bowl halftime shows these days.
5. University of Arizona Symphonic Marching Band, Grambling State University Marching Band, Al Hirt, and Anaheim High School Ana-Hi-Steppers Drill Team and Flag Girls (Super Bowl I)
Does it really matter which halftime show between I and IV gets ranked higher? Do you really care? These old performances are now grainy and hard to understand what's going on but I gave this one a slight edge because it had a cowboy duel. (I think?) Otherwise, it would probably come down to a coin flip.
4. Usher (Super Bowl LVIII)
A massive gap exists between number five and number four, and I can't stress that enough. I considered just ranking the four recent Super Bowl halftime shows that K.C. has been a part of but figured what fun would that be? So, now we're into the juicier part of the list and it's kicking off with Usher.
I wouldn't say that Usher's performance was bad by any means but it takes the bottom spot here because the other three truly were better. "Yeah!" is a banger and the roller skates were fun but the top four here were all fun performances and Usher's wasn't as fun as the other three.
3. The Weeknd (Super Bowl LV)
Perhaps this particular production is ranked lower for Chiefs fans because it came during a Super Bowl loss, as the Chiefs got blown out by the Bucs in Super Bowl LV. In fact, they were already getting blown out by the time The Weeknd took the stage so maybe that's why this performance isn't an all-timer for Kansas Citians.
That being said, The Weeknd did put on one heck of a show and that's saying something considering this was the first Super Bowl during the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the stadium was half-empty and there weren't any guest stars popping up. The mirror bit was fun (and trippy) and it's hard not to sing along to "Can't Feel My Face" but ultimately, The Weeknd lands here.
2. Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (Super Bowl LIV)
The first Super Bowl halftime show that Chiefs fans probably didn't pay a whole lot of attention to (which is a shame, if true) was when Shakira and Jennifer Lopez took the stage in Super Bowl LIV. That's because Kansas City was playing in its first Super Bowl in 50 years and went on to win but that's not what we're here to discuss.
Shakira rocked out to hits like "She Wolf" and "Hips Don't Lie" giving way to J-Lo starting her performance and kicking things off with "Jenny From the Block". It was fun to see two Latina women on one of the biggest stages and they crushed it.
1. Rihanna (Super Bowl LVII)
The best Super Bowl halftime show associated with this Chiefs' run was Rihanna during Kansas City's win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. She just absolutely nailed this performance, kicking the show off with "B**** Better Have My Money" and eventually moved on to "Rude Boy" and "Diamonds".
The most memorable part of this show was the white-hooded dancers, whose entrance was memed heavily after the fact. Chiefs fans might not have let themselves enjoy this one too much since Patrick Mahomes had gotten injured right before this performance but hopefully, they've rewatched it since because Rihanna delivered banger after banger. It was one of those shows where you forget how many hits the artist had until she was performing them one after another.
manual