Here We Go Again: Petition Launched to Book Metallica for Super Bowl Halftime Show

Commence the yearly ritual: a group of fans have launched a Change.org petition to the NFL to book Metallica for the biggest gig in America, the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Metal fans have for years complained that Metallica, objectively one of the most popular bands on the planet, have been snubbed for Super Bowl honors in favor of more mainstream pop acts or classic rock. Metal celebrities like Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) have even joined the chorus in recent years.

Metallica have played Super Bowl-related events but never the main event. In 2016 they performed the night before the Super Bowl in the same city, and this year they performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on the same TV channel directly after the game.

But a headlining spot at the big game? Seems unlikely given metal’s general unpalatability in the mainstream, even though the band’s songs are blared constantly in sports stadium at key moments. Even James Hetfield himself is resigned to the fact that it’ll likely never happen.

Still, there is always hope. The new petition reads:

“Metallica has sold over 65 million albums in the United States alone and over 125 million worldwide and yet have performed ZERO times at the Superbowl halftime show for no good reason. If MetallicA is chosen to perform the halftime show next year at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, it will be talked about for years to come. NFL fan’s want Rock N Roll and Heavy Metal not pop artists.”

You can sign the latest petition right here, joining the whopping 9 folks who have already done so.