Photo by George Martinez
Audio By Carbonatix
By now, it’s pretty much universally accepted that this year’s Super Bowl was the worst one yet. That’s actually great news for Miami, which will host the event in 2020 – it almost guarantees next year will seem way more exciting in comparison.
To prepare America, the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee on Monday released its first promo video featuring Mr. 305 himself, Pitbull. And on Change.org, a grassroots movement to get Armando Christian Pérez
to perform during next year’s halftime show is already in full swing.
“Our city is a melting pot of all different cultures, and Pitbull is the voice for that,” says JP Gutierrez, a Miami resident who started the petition. “I just think we deserve that.”
Gutierrez was watching Big Boi perform at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on Sunday when he started thinking about which artist would best represent Miami. He created the Change.org petition and immediately sent it to his friends.
“I texted it to my group chat like, ‘Hey, what if this happened?'” Gutierrez says. “I thought someone’s probably going to have the idea to do this, so let me be the one to have the initiative to do it.”
Plenty of Miamians feel the same way. Since Sunday, Twitter has been buzzing with hopeful speculation that Pitbull will be called up to the big stage:
Miami, who we want for halftime next year?
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) February 4, 2019
Next year…Super Bowl LIV…in Miami…
If @pitbull isn’t the Halftime Show, I don’t know what to tell you all.
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) February 4, 2019
Next Superbowl is in Miami. Gonna predict that Pitbull will be the halftime show artist. Mr. 305/Mr. Worldwide pic.twitter.com/bOX04VHmJB
— CJ Just (@CjJust) February 4, 2019
The #NFL REALLY missed the boat not doing the all Atlanta artist halftime show.
We all know it’s gonna be Pitbull in Miami.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) February 4, 2019
So far, Pitbull hasn’t responded to his social media fans about a Super Bowl slot. If history is any indicator, the NFL likely won’t announce the halftime performer until this fall.
While Gutierrez fully admits Pitbull is corny, he says Miami should still be proud of its hometown superstar.
“People take Pitbull as a joke, and we kind of take Pitbull as a joke down here, but honestly he’s ours,” Gutierrez says. “It’s like the home run sculpture. It’s an eyesore, but it’s our thing.”
