Springsteen to rock the Super Bowl?

That bastion of journalistic integrity, the New York Post, reports that “a spy” and “sources” confirm that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform during the halftime show of this season’s Super Bowl on Feb. 1. If true, it’s the NFL’s latest attempt to draw eyeballs with a wholesome, all-American performer. Last year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played a solid, if surprisingly low-key set of songs.

A look at the history of the halftime show is interesting. For the first 30-plus years, it was like a variety show, with college marching bands, tributes to various people and movements, and family/kid-friendly fare. That changed in 1993, with a Michael Jackson performance at Super Bowl XXVII. Even then, the solo performer didn’t take hold until after Janet Jackson’s woes, which were part of the AOL TopSpeed Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show (how soon we forget). U2′s post-Sept. 11 tribute was the exception up to that point.

After Janet, classic rock was the go-to, controversy free choice. First came Paul McCartney’s snoozefest, then the Rolling Stones and, a relatively risky choice given the context, Prince. Petty followed, and now we may well have the Boss. Hopefully his appearance is more in line with that of Prince, who gave a fiery performance, than like McCartney and Petty, who played safe, predictable sets.