NFL Releases Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Raucous 2008 Super Bowl Halftime Show
The NFL is notoriously tight with their video content, particularly when it comes to their Super Bowl halftime shows (you have to go to a deep corner of the internet to watch Prince’s epic “Purple Rain” in the rain in Miami) but they made an exeption following the passing of Tom Petty, who played the 2008 halftime show in Phoenix.
Petty appeared following a trying time for the halftime show, as the event scaled back from the pop spectacles in the wake of the Janet Jackson controversy, trending more towards safe, classic rockers to come out and deliver 13 minutes of music. After Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones and Prince, Petty was up next in 2008 during the incredible Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
With a slew of hits, it was relatively easy for Petty and the Heartbreakers to entertain as they weaved tunes like “American Girl,” “Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin'” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream” into their brief, pyro-filled set that stands as a classic moment in Super Bowl halftime show history.
Watch below.