On The Petition for George Strait to Play the Super Bowl
Those who’ve frequented this dark corner of the internet over the last few years probably know that the exclusion of country music from the Super Bowl halftime show for now 32 consecutive seasons is a cause célèbre around these parts. It seems extremely odd that one of the most popular genres in American music has been systemically overlooked for the most-watched event in America each year, save for National Anthem performances and other preambles.
Because of this, you might think Saving Country Music would be a staunch supporter of the petition currently circulating demanding that “King” George Strait replace Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime entertainment, especially since it’s gained a head of steam, cresting over 60,000 signatures. After all, Strait’s record-setting sellout at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas in 2024 has been cited specifically in the advocacy for a country artist to be featured come Super Bowl time.
And make no mistake about it, George Strait would make an excellent pick for the job. Forget current streaming numbers and other such metrics that some are citing to splash cold water on the idea. Strait remains a massive football stadium draw, one of the most popular and successful American artists of all time, and would definitely have folks tuning in as opposed to tuning out during the intermission.
When performers like Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, and even Usher in 2024 were booked for the halftime show, they weren’t booked due to to their popularity among the current youth. They were booked because they were legends, and appeal for their music was virtually universal. They were also booked because they brought a level of gravity to the performance, not just hype.
But this George Strait petition is expending a lot of energy in a wrong direction, and won’t actually address the underlying problem with how the NFL picks these performers, especially when it comes to passing over country acts. The next Super Bowl Halftime Performer is done and dusted. It’s going to be Bad Bunny. 6 million signatures won’t change that. The contracts have been signed. And if the NFL changed directions now, the backlash will be 10-times what it currently is for picking Bad Bunny in the first place.
Bad Bunny is not the problem, even if he’s not your taste. As many have pointed out, he’s one of the most popular artists on the planet at the moment. And have you watched an NFL game recently? The league is pandering obsequiously for an international following, from the commercials they run, to the little foreign flags on the backs of player helmets. The NFL is obsessed with growing the financial pie, and want to take football to the world to do so. Bad Bunny is part of that big overarching strategy.
Furthermore, the opposition to Bad Bunny is being used for claims of racism and insensitivity, fair or not. Is that what’s driving most of the signatures on the petition? I sure hope not. Is it driving a few of them? Probably so. And by throwing George Strait’s name in the mix, he’s catching strays and taking collateral damage that he doesn’t deserve. But this is also being driven by a lot of misunderstanding, on both sides of the political divide.
George Strait is from Poteet, TX—a small town south of San Antonio. The Latino population of Poteet is 88%. If you go to a George Strait show in Texas, you’ll see that the majority of his audience is Latino. There are many Latino football fans who would love to see George Strait perform. And country music is not strictly a White person’s genre. It represents a wide swath of the American experience, as diversity advocates love to point out. So this is not the White vs. Brown issue some are making it out to be.
But this petition is also taking a wild leap of faith that George Strait even wants the gig. He’s famous for swerving away from any and all controversy. Even if in some fantasy scenario the NFL ousted Bad Bunny, George Strait is unlikely to step up into what would be a very controversial spot. The Super Bowl halftime performance has been Taylor Swift’s to lose for the last few years, and she’s side stepped it continuously, saying it’s not worth the hassle.
So what should country music fans be petitioning for? A much better place to start would be petitioning for any country star to perform the Super Bowl halftime show in 2027, whoever that country star might be. And no, this doesn’t immediately mean it would have to be Morgan Wallen, or Shaboozey, or some big, polarizing mainstream personality. George Strait would be a great place to start, or someone like Chris Stapleton, or Luke Combs, with guest appearances by Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, etc.
So sign the George Strait Super Bowl petition if you want. Or, don’t sign it. If nothing else, it signals that country fans demand to be represented in the process. But let’s not take our eye off the ball on the bigger issue at play here, and it’s even bigger than football, the Super Bowl, or some 12-minute performance.
Country music is constantly slotted as second-class when it comes to the greater American culture, even when it’s more popular than ever like it is now, and more popular than any other genre. Country music doesn’t look to dominate other genres, or take over the American culture. It’s just wants to be country. If anything, country doesn’t want to be adopted by the rest of culture, because that dilutes what’s cool and unique about it.
But country music does want to be respected. And for 32 straight years, the disrespect from the NFL has been palpable. Hopefully that streak ends soon. And sure, when it comes time for the next decision, as the record holder of the 2nd and 4th largest ticketed events in North American history, George Strait wouldn’t be a bad pick for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and the NFL to make.
But above all, let’s make sure country is considered at all, for the Super Bowl halftime, or whenever the country congregates to collectively enjoy this melting pot culture we’ve all helped create. Because country music has been a big part of that.
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October 22, 2025 @ 8:17 am
My first thought when I heard about the petition to have George Strait play for the Super Bowl halftime entertainment was, “Did anyone ask George if he wanted to play?” I’m still curious. Who stared this petition? I’m still curious.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:21 am
Anonymously posting a petition that you hope people sign their public names to kind of feels self-defeating.
October 22, 2025 @ 10:06 am
NFL screwed this up horrifically. They should have gone with Metallica. They are from the area. Still massively popular and milquetoast enough to have not been controversial. And the Special Guests could have been Dave Mustaine and a Lou Reed holograph.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:03 am
Did they really screw it up? Or are conservative “influencers” (and some grifters contained within that sphere) just making a big deal about something that most people could really care less about?
I’m no Bad Bunny fan, but the Super Bowl is still gonna smash ratings this year. Ad buys will likely be at or near record highs. Barring Bad Bunny doing something controversial during his performance, nobody is gonna remember it a week after the game.
I also would have gone with Metallica, but I also find this whole “controversy” to be pretty stupid overall. The gripes that Country Music gets ignored are legit, but the hyperbole around this halftime performance is ridiculous.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:04 pm
Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty worked at the time because radio was still big then. Metallica is a big live act but they are a legacy act now.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:17 am
I just assumed early reporting on this peitition was bad satire. Just the other day I commented on a Facebook friend’s post that Marty Stuart did not in fact get denied by Disney to air his Charlie Kirk tribute movie. ( I mean come on think about that for two seconds people) I’m not for banning bad satire because the internet is fair game for legal discourse and trolling the dumbest people includes that – it just shows who has zero critical thinking when behind a keyboard. And it’s not just bored baby boomers resharing these types of posts, it’s people in their 30’s.
Other people have made this point; the NFL is a global organization and Bad Bunny is popular worldwide. I’ve made this point to friends: If you have a problem with the NFL (or any other entertainment) just don’t watch it. We aren’t going to see an olive brach extended to rural America via the Super Bowl. There is contempt for rural American culture. I’m not trying to be needlessly political here but it’s been over a decade now of one side of the political spectrum labeling white people as inherently racist and sexist – and Country music fans are labeled that the most enthusiastically. Good freakin’ luck expecting or hoping Country music to be respected on a Super Bowl level. One political side is actively cheering for the erosion of the American culture and the mass migration of immigrants. This is the bed you made – you won’t have a Country music super bowl unless it’s hosted in Nashvile – in which case some non-Country country artists will be the main performers.
October 22, 2025 @ 10:11 am
Rural America needs to stop watching the NFL if they ever want respect again.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:08 am
Land doesn’t vote and land doesn’t watch TV.
I live in rural America. Proudly. But this whole idea that if “rural America stops watching the NFL, things will change” fails to acknowledge that the actual economic impact of rural America on the NFL is pretty negligible.
If rural America had the audience that moved the needle financially, these companies would target them hand over fist with entertainment options. The fact that doesn’t seem to be happening isn’t some sign of a “vast conspiracy”, it’s just reality that some dude living in western North Dakota with 5 people within 100 miles of him isn’t an economic driver to these entertainment companies and networks.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:24 pm
My comment isn’t about change; it is about respect.
The NFL has a vice grip on Rural America. The Kaep saga proved that. NFL football trumps patriotic sentiment.
In a bad relationship? Walk away. It is not about making the other party change, it is about keeping your self-respect.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:01 pm
I don’t understand this almost religious tie that people feel to proffesional sports leagues. Why not just stop watching it and don’t look back? Why does it have to reform to your wishes? Why is that one form of entertainment so ingrained in you all’s psyche that you cannot walk away from one proffesional sport?
I’m not into sports anyway so I find it hilarious when you all bitch and moan about your favorite teams being forced to wear rainbow armbands. You all are just gonna bend over and keep watching anyway.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:26 pm
Sports have become a new religion for many.
You are spot on with your last paragraph. The ruling parties know that fact.
Czar Roger just came out confirming Bad Bunny’s spot. Fans complain about every aspect of the NFL (it is getting soft, too many flags, the games are too long, etc) and still watch. He knows that. Companies know that.
October 22, 2025 @ 10:29 am
The irony of this whole thing is that George Strait actually has a HUGE Hispanic following, including south of the border. So if you wanted to appeal to Hispanic fans, George Strait would be a great option. Many of the traditional country artists coming out of Texas at the moment are Hispanic like Matt Castillo and all the members of Flatland Cavalry. Braxton Keith just released his cover of Strait’s “The Chair” as a single.
October 22, 2025 @ 12:00 pm
My guess is that Hispanic viewership is lumped into the US viewership demographic. They want Chinese and India viewship numbers.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:28 pm
Trigger,
The NFL doesn’t care about American numbers. They have that locked down, along with Mexico. It is about worldwide domination. South America, China, Europe, India, etc.
Saudi Arabia just made a pitch to host a game.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:33 am
Googled my question and came to with article from Billboard stating it was paced on Change.org by Kar Shell, a TX native. Take this Google info for what it’s worth.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:38 am
It looks like the name was added very recently because I checked it previously and it was still anonymous, and many of the reports on it cite it as an anonymous petition.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:35 am
I would like to just throw this out there.how bout instead of one entity getting to make the decision why not let season ticket holders or owners make the decision. Afterall Jay Zee doesnt attend the games why should he and his cronies get to decide for everyone.Just saying…Thanks
October 22, 2025 @ 9:51 am
Because the ones who make the decision don’t care what owners, or season-ticket holders, or fans in general want to see. The broadcast of the NFL’s championship game is marketed primarily to people who don’t care about the game itself, because the people who care about the game will watch no matter who is on the halftime show. I actually stopped following the NFL for this very reason.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:35 am
There is a lot of online chatter about Jelly Roll’s recent weight loss being a sign he will also be at the Super Bowl. So we might get a little country tinge after all.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:00 am
Will he cry 3 times in a 10 minute period? My money is on the over.
October 22, 2025 @ 12:41 pm
Jelly lost weight because he wanted to perform and be credible in the WWE (He does have a great working punch) which is yet another entertainment organization that is trying hard to expand internationally. Come to think of it Bad Bunny headlined a major WWE event a couple of years ago in Puerto Rico and also trained hard to be credible and was extremely well liked and respected by the WWE fan base.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:37 am
yes, i love country music. that would be great
October 22, 2025 @ 8:39 am
Reba.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:41 am
As part of Super Bowl week festivities, Chris Stapleton and Sierra Ferrell will be headlining a concert in San Francisco the night before the game.
October 22, 2025 @ 8:54 am
The preshow events arguably make the matter worse because it’s the NFL/Roc Nation recognizing that they’re underserving the country music demographic, so they’re paying them lip service. The Halftime Show is what million and millions of people watch. I’m glad especially for Sierra Ferrell and this will be a cool concert. But it doesn’t really address the 32-year absence of country music at halftime.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:32 am
I’m not sure calling the Stapleton/Ferrell concert lip service is on target. The difference is that for these pre super bowl festivities they need artists that will actually bring in fans/audience and those 2 will. Stapleton has wide appeal. For the Super Bowl they prefer artists that will bring in fans that would not necessarily watch part of the Super Bowl otherwise. I think that plays as much of a role in country music being shut out as any as they assume country music fans will watch the super bowl anyway.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:10 am
George Strait also said he wasn’t performing at Kennedy Center Honors as well I believe. I don’t think he would do it. Honestly, Luke Combs would be great pick. Super popular stadium act and he’s just a give me a microphone and I’ll sing performer.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:31 am
typically the recognized artists at the Kennedy Center Honors don’t perform – they sit there and think “who decided that these clowns should sing my songs…”
October 22, 2025 @ 10:01 am
This may be true but Heart did bring the members of Led Zeppelin to tears with their rendition of Stairway to Heaven.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:55 am
Generally, the Super Bowl is looking for performers who will take the mic and not sing.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:19 am
The only reason Bad Bunny was booked for the Super Bowl is because the NFL couldn’t land who they REALLY wanted…Taylor Swift. Everyone knows it. Everyone else with any sense of self-respect and patriotism most likely turned them down as well. An even-close-to country act hasn’t performed at halftime in 22 years (2003, Shania Twain). That says everything about the NFL’s agenda. They couldn’t care less about anyone in between NYC and LA/SF.
The George Strait issue is appropriate. There’s a pivitol scene in Pure Country where he (as Dusty) steps out on stage and begins to sing. There’s so many fans screaming, lights, sound, and smoke…he stops singing for ten bars, just standing there. No one notices because it has just become a circus, not a real performance. That is exactly what the NFL halftime show has become. No one gives a flip about Bad Bunny; 90 percent of the viewing audience doesn’t know him from Bugs Bunny. They just want to see what trainwreck spectacle the NFL can present to top last year. (They should scrap performers entirely and just do a drone show).
So, forgive the American people if (in 2026, the 250th anniversary of our nation), we demand to see an established artist we care about, we respect, who respects us, we relate to, and one who actually sings in a language all of us can understand. As for the anti-Puerto Rico nonsense, that’s a typical response… we’re sooo racist. Please. We’d eagerly take the real Ricky Martin over the wannabe any day…because, God knows, the Rotten Rabbit is no Ricky Martin.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:31 am
Crazy, the NFL wants to gain an international foothold, but can’t manage to pool its broadcast rights for the European market, which weakens its media presence in Europe to the point of invisibility.
At the same time they book Bad Bunny and leave out a country artist in order to appear more “international”.
Last Friday, country artist Luke Combs sold out London’s Wembley Stadium (capacity: 90,000 people) twice within minutes, therefore a third evening had to be added.
He also sold out Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh (capacity 67,144 people) and Slane Castle in Ireland (capacity 80,000 people) for two evenings each within minutes.
He also sold out the Johann Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam (Netherlands; capacity 68,000 people) within minutes.
For his performances in Paris (France; Accor Arena – capacity 20,300 people) and Gothenburg (Sweden; Ullevi Arena – capacity 75,000 people) after a short time there were only a few tickets left for seats with poor visibility of the stage. He brings along the more traditional sound-oriented Ty Myers, Thelma & James and Castellows as openers.
Country artist Zach Bryan played London’s Hyde Park (capacity 65,000 people) on two nights in 2025. Openers included Turnpike Troubadours, Noeline Hofmann, Waylon Wyatt, Gabriella Rose and Willow Avalon.
The Country2Country Festival 2025 in Berlin, Rotterdam, Belfast, Glasgow, London with artists such as Lainey Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Cody Johnson, Midland, Dylan Gossett, Sam Barber, 49 Winchester, Wyatt Flores and many more was completely sold out.
Country is more popular internationally than ever before.
Now, NFL: Find your mistake.
Greetings from Europe.
October 22, 2025 @ 10:21 am
Good insight Akade.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:31 am
Here’s an idea. Have George and Bunny BOTH play the Super Bowl, and they can have a contest to see who strums the guitar the best. Oh . . . wait . . . NEVER MIND.
October 22, 2025 @ 10:38 am
It’s a wash. Bad Bunny probably rocks the dress better.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:46 am
Chris Stapleton would be an excellent choice. He already does the Monday Night Football song, a cover of “In the Air Tonight” (with an unfortunate addition of Snoop Dogg). Chris Stapleton has crossover appeal with Tennessee Whiskey.
October 22, 2025 @ 9:58 am
Has siging a petition on change.org ever actually changed anything?
October 22, 2025 @ 10:43 am
I read that Trump is unhappy about Bad Bunny’s selection. i don’t watch the halftime shows anymore, but I’m happy that Trump is unhappy.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:31 pm
America Last comment.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:22 am
Artists don’t get paid for their halftime performance. To George Strait that’s a deal breaker. So sign away, he ain’t working for free and doesn’t need the exposure.
In fact, there were reports that the NFL has been recently trying to negotiate a post performance % of sales of streams and concert tickets.
Taylor Swift was supposed to be the halftime show this season, but negotiations feel apart because according to Yahoo Entertainment:
“Swift wanted ownership of her performance and the right to promote her other offerings during the show. The NFL apparently said no to this as well. If true, that was probably an even bigger deal-breaker (than wanting to be compensated). Swift is famously determined to own her own music.”
https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/taylor-swift-just-refused-to-perform-at-the-super-bowl-heres-the-lesson-you-can-learn-from-her/91244742
If it’s not good enough for Swift, it ain’t good enough for Strait.
Most of these artists now are a rung below super star because the super stars are saying “no.” Maybe country artists too don’t see the value or the payoff of performing. Maybe the juice ain’t worth the squeeze.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:29 am
Stop giving your time, attention, and money to people that hate you.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:34 am
I attended the 1986 Super Bowl when the Bears shellacked my Patriots in New Orleans and the halftime show that day was
Up With People! How would you like that?!
I still watch and support the Patriots but I could care less about the NFL, theother NFL teams, or the nonsensical halftime shows where they wheel out the band, surround them with fake fans for a 15 minute performance. The only one that was any good was the post 9/11 U2 show and if the Pats arent in the Super Bowl, I am in the small majority who don’t watch it.
The NFL is a business and only cares about publicity, exposure and $$$$$.I’d rather put my energies and time elsewhere.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:34 am
People still watch NFL “football” pageantry?
October 22, 2025 @ 11:34 am
I’d feel weird handing over my contact information for something like this.
Congrats you’re on another contact list for micro targeting…and George might not even WANT to play?
October 22, 2025 @ 11:47 am
Anytime I see Turnpike as an opener I just laugh.
October 22, 2025 @ 11:59 am
I’d argue at this point of the timeline, Luke Combs has better odds at breaking country music’s dry spell at the Super Bowl than Strait.
And by saying this is by no means underestimating Strait’s enduring appeal: including among many Latinos as you aforementioned. It’s more considering Roc Nation’s perspective in booking acts and viewing the odds that way. Some would argue Morgan Wallen, although I think his tendency to get into controversy puts him behind both Combs and Strait.
I’d say Combs is the hypothetical frontrunner for playing a future Super Bowl among all country acts presently, with Jelly Roll second. I’d say Strait has probably the third-best odds to land the gig and if I were to round out my top five I’d put Chris Stapleton at #4 and Lainey Wilson at #5.
October 22, 2025 @ 12:18 pm
Combs odds increase if he’s able to get Chapman to leave her house again for the 2nd time in a decade. 🙂
October 22, 2025 @ 12:24 pm
Honestly the best country performer for a halftime show if she could do it would be Dolly and it’s not even close. She’s widely loved, has many collabs with younger artists, the other surprise guests she could have would be outstanding. It may be heavy lifting at her age, but that’s the best pick
October 22, 2025 @ 12:26 pm
OK, hypothetical scenario. Let’s say they do pick a country act for next year. Chances are, it WOULD be Morgan Wallen. Would we really be happy with that? Would such a move not polarizing to the Country music fanbase?
October 22, 2025 @ 12:32 pm
Morgan Wallen will never be picked. Too polarizing, especially for the NFL. Maybe 20 years down the road or something, but it would become a massive scandal if the N-word guy was picked. The press would have a field day.
October 22, 2025 @ 12:41 pm
It is racist…at the very least, it’s cultural. There’s a contingent of people who cannot stand to have someone that’s Puerto Rican and doesn’t speak English first on the halftime show. That’s it, it’s that simple.
It’s also a commentary on how people can’t believe that they’re not the intended audience all the time and that the NFL halftime hasn’t been catered to their tastes. The n-word here isn’t the one you think it is…it’s narcissism and a healthy dose of it.
October 22, 2025 @ 1:31 pm
Yeah, those fans based in an English-speaking country watching an American-based sport want an entertainer who speaks English first. What tenacity to demand such a thing!
Shouldn’t they know that their culture is racist and wrong and needs to be eradicated in the name of diversity and globalism!
October 22, 2025 @ 12:42 pm
I love country music. Go to about 12-15 shows a year. Mainly small venues but some up to 5,000 people. Independent artists like Crockett, Jinks, Turnpike, Sturgill etc are the bigger acts. The Super Bowl is a spectacle and I don’t need my favorite music played at halftime. Bunch of crybaby’s and racists starting another culture war. In the words of the great Tom Petty “you’re jammin’ me, quit jamming’ me”