Nothing wrong with a little flippancy in NFL
Great career move, M.I.A.
Before Sunday, I had no idea who or what this musical attraction was.
The first thing that came to mind was Notorious M.I.A., but that was confusing it with the late Notorious B.I.G.
M.I.A.? Hmmm. A band? No. A male drummer? No. A female singer? Bingo!
Her real name is Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, which coincidentally also is Dolly Parton's real name.
According to Wikipedia, M.I.A. is “a British rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, painter and director.”
No wonder she didn't have time to play tight end for the Patriots on Sunday.
M.I.A.'s compositions “combine elements of hip-hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music.”
None of which I'm familiar with except hip-hop, an Olympic track and field event.
Oh, almost forget, M.I.A. also is “a philanthropist and humanitarian.”
You go, girl!
I know all this now because I Googled M.I.A. after a camera caught her flipping a middle finger at us during the Super Bowl halftime show.
This was terrible, horrible, rude, crude, boorish … and thoroughly amusing to me.
M.I.A. was a bit player during the spectacle that featured Madonna, who was disappointing at last week's halftime news conference.
The edgy one, the envelope pusher, the inspiration for Lady Gaga … well, Madonna came across as a 53-year-old matriarch of propriety.
The NFL has a way of homogenizing anyone — players, coaches and entertainers.
Wear your socks wrong and you're fined. Have fun in the end zone and you're fined. Eat a deluxe pizza on the sideline and you're fined.
The No Fun League, indeed.
The NFL controls everything during Super Bowl week. Commissioner Roger Goodell must love that Gisele Bündchen's presence dresses up the league but hates that he can't know what she'll do, say or tweet next.
Madonna also should be uncontrollable. She should say or do something wrong to embarrass the NFL.
Instead, Madonna's media briefing was as proper as the NFL book of etiquette.
Most bothersome is that the league wants to pass itself off as family entertainment, as if violence is OK but racy isn't.
Into this environment parachuted M.I.A., who essentially said bleep the league and stuck her middle finger up Goodell's nose.
If the league was surprised, it ignored that the public bird is a musical tradition from Johnny Cash to Eminem.
I find myself laughing at M.I.A.'s rebellious sign language, just as I was by Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at a previous halftime.
Anything rattling the league's self-righteous attitude is a blessed event.
If the NFL doesn't like what M.I.A. did, it should revert to marching bands, Disney acts and “Sesame Street” parades.
Instead of the bad bird they could give you Big Bird.
If this sounds flip rather than flipped off, so be it. To me, NBC has nothing to apologize for or be fined for.
Live television is supposed to be real life, or else you wind up with one of those unscripted scripts pawned off as reality TV.
Even scripted shows are more obscene these days than Maya's middle finger, or haven't you watched “Two and a Half Men” lately?
By the way, another musical act named LMFAO did a cameo during the halftime show.
There's no telling what the middle “F” represents, so Google it at your own risk.
mimrem@dailyherald.com