WAKE UP, AMERICA — AND YES, I KNOW THAT’S AN AGGRESSIVE WAY TO SAY HELLO, BUT THEM’S THE BREAKS BECAUSE WE. HAVE. TO. TALK.
*deep breath*
Twitter lit up early Friday morning when the NFL announced some pretty significant Super Bowl news at the stroke of midnight: They’ve signed a multi-year halftime show sponsorship deal with Apple Music months after ending their deal with Pepsi. (By now you’re asking, “Is THIS why you’re screaming at me right now? Because Apple’s going to be taking over yet another thing? Get lost, CORPORATE SHILL.”)
STAY WITH ME, THANKS.
The announcement’s significance goes way, way beyond the news itself — or at least, we’re pretty sure it might but have no actual confirmation and are making that very clear early on. Because the thing is MANY believe this was a clever way to let the world know what’s really going on here: Taylor Swift might be playing the SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW.
First, the evidence:
The NFL dropped a major press release at midnight.
Any Taylor Swift fan worth their weight in cozy fall sweaters knows midnight is when this girl goes to WORK. She dropped two surprise albums at midnight during the pandemic, the word “midnight” appears approximately 2,000 times in her extensive song catalogue, AND she’s releasing a brand-new album Oct. 21 titled — you guessed it — Midnights.
Any media professional worth their weight in awkwardly worded pitch emails knows dropping big news in the middle of the night would be a weird move for most organizations considering your target audience — the press — is probably asleep (unless you’re me, but I waited six hours to write this because work-life boundaries!)
But midnight is the golden hour for Taylor Swift fans. That’s when we come alive, like vampires if vampires could sustain their existence with relationship trauma, profound emotional growth and eternal spite toward Jake Gyllenhaal.
Taylor’s never performed during a Super Bowl Halftime Show due to her contract with Coke barring her from even LOOKING at a Pepsi.
OK, that’s an exaggeration …probably… but Swifties have spent years wishing Taylor could have the opportunity to play the halftime show and it was unlikely to happen as long as Pepsi was the sponsor.
BUT THEN.
After 10 years of iconic Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show performances, we have decided it’s time to pass the mic. 🎤 Thank you to the amazing artists and fans who helped us create some incredible moments along the way. 👏 Now on to the next stage… 👀
— Pepsi (@pepsi) May 24, 2022
Taylor’s been teasing the track titles of Midnights since the announcement and at the same time the Apple Music news dropped, she announced Track 8: “Vigilante Sh*t”.
OK, I’m admittedly not as skilled at Taylor Swift clue-deciphering as many of her fans, so I can’t actually say this hints at anything resembling confirmation. HOWEVER, it’s pretty smart to drop Taylor Swift speculation at a time when her massive fan base is Very Online waiting for another clue about the new album. It’s also just a great name for a song. (But we’ll need the clean version for the Super Bowl, Tay.)
You might think some of this is a reach, and who knows?! It could be! But I’m not the only one connecting the dots here, and therefore you can’t get mad at me if this theory turns out to be wrong.
MORE SPECULATION
The NFL announcing Apple+ as the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show at Midnight …is it a coincidence or… @NoraPrinciotti @NathanCHubbard
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) September 23, 2022
https://t.co/3UTPktSViN pic.twitter.com/HBy2hibnGm
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 23, 2022
screaming and crying and throwing up omg https://t.co/PoHo9UsEbj
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) September 23, 2022
Actually a Taylor Swift Superbowl performance would be cute because she has the hits AND the budget. pic.twitter.com/VZBC1Dok4S
— Sisa (@TheTitanBaddie) September 23, 2022
so all i’m seeing is taylor swift super bowl halftime show 2023 https://t.co/5Z1FZkusvl
— pres🪩 (@swiftselite) September 23, 2022
I do not think the country, as a whole, is prepared for the mere idea of a Taylor Swift Super Bowl performance
— L.C. Norton (@ByLCNorton) September 23, 2022
THE IMPLICATIONS THIS HAS FOR A POTENTIAL TAYLOR SWIFT SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW https://t.co/8PPbysxEj5
— avery ❧ (@afterglowgrande) September 23, 2022
Taylor Swift fans should also be focusing on this:
Although midnight produced Vigilante Shit as Track 8, reports said Apple Music would be the new Super Bowl Halftime Sponsor.
The previous sponsor was Pepsi, and TS partners with Coca-Cola
now… Taylor Swift Halftime Show soon? pic.twitter.com/pcD0oiG0Pk
— 𝕏𝔽 𝕃ℤ𝕆ℕ𝔼 (@xflzone_ig) September 23, 2022
