Tens of thousands of people are petitioning for parody-artist Weird Al Yankovic to perform at the next Super Bowl.
It started in a drunken moment of inspiration, but now Ed Ball’s online petition is over halfway to his goal of 100,000 signatures, and, he hopes, a "hilarious" Super Bowl Performance.
"For decades Weird Al has entertained fans, young and old, with his popular clever parodies and unique sense of humor (sic)," begins Ball’s appeal.
Ball goes on to write that a Yankovic performance would attract an audience that might not normally tune in to the NFL’s championship game. Then he asks fans to sign a simple letter:
"To: NFL," it reads. "Have Weird Al Yankovic headline the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show. Sincerely, [Your name]"
Yankovic has not commented on the current petition, but in 2012 he said that he’d be interested in playing the show—if the NFL invited him.
Ball wrote that he came up with the idea for the petition while eavesdropping on a conversation at a bar. A group of football fans were discussing who should headline the next Super Bowl halftime show and Ball became frustrated with their suggestions.
Ball, who wrote that he has been a football and Yankovic fan his whole life, went home and started the petition.
Yankovic, Ball reasoned, would combine the creativity and humour of Super Bowl ads with the musical talent of a halftime performance. And while the singer could be considered "a gimmick comedic artist," Ball wrote, "You cannot deny that he has crafted his art and been successful."
Yankovic’s recently released album, "Mandatory Fun," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. His single "Word Crimes," a parody of Robin Thicke’s "Blurred Lines," is currently 91st on the Billboard "Hot 100" chart.
As of Thursday morning, the petition had more than 60,000 signatures.
