As live sports continue to become as much about entertainment as the sport itself, who didn’t see this coming? ESPN and the College Football Playoff have said they will have a musical act perform at halftime of this season’s championship game.
The performance will be aired on ESPN, and the kicker: the marching bands will not be bumped!
The concert and live watch party will be free to attend; the concert will be broadcast on an ESPN channel as a part of the network’s megacast of the game.
The marching bands for each participating school will still perform in the stadium at halftime of the national title game. Meantime, the musical guest will perform in Centennial Olympic Park, near the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
In a statement to the AP, College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock confirmed his support of marching bands, saying, ”Traditions are an important part of college football. This rich culture includes marching bands performing at halftime.”
This year’s title game is in Atlanta on Jan. 8, 2018.
Clearly this event isn’t going to get Super Bowl-levels of stardom such as Beyonce, Coldplay and U2. But I could see a group such as Zac Brown Band being interested and getting paid enough to get involved. Maybe a rising country star such as Cole Swindell, who’s famous, but hasn’t hit superstardom.
More importantly, will the Big 12 have a team playing in the College Football Playoff championship game? It’s been 3 years of the College Football Playoff and the Big 12 has yet to be represented on the biggest stage.
Will this be the year? And who do you want to see perform? Let us know in the comments!
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