Green Day will open the Super Bowl 2026

[Winter321]

39 minutes ago, Mollyluna said:

I just got up (after five hours sleep 😭) and rewatched their performance. And aside from many people being disappointed, I think from a musical standpoint they were perfect. Great show!😍

It was sooo good from a musical standpoint, cannot argue with that🤩

[Thatsername]

"Information age of hysteria, It's calling out to idiot America" - that line sung into the silence of that big stadium hit on a completely different level. I think they have made their message pretty much clear. It is in their lyrics, it always has been. 

[Trina]

1 hour ago, arcadiagay said:

I went back through the stream I was watching to see if I could find it without any luck. Where did you watch?

I saw him on his phone (lol) during the half-time show on whatever package Channel 5 (UK) were airing - the official NBC one, I presume.. they aired a couple other celebs at the same time - Jessica Alba, can't remember who else, sorry!

[Yosuke Hanamura]

The YouTube upload already accumulated 1 million views. I'm so freaking happy.

[Trina]

Will the viewing figures be available for the Opening Ceremony portion of the show or will they not isolate it like that?

[jengd]

I can understand if people are upset at the length of the performance, it went quickly and we always want more BUT bear in mind

it was a great performance

Green Day got a huge amount of publicity and nobody could be unaware of their stance and many of their lyrics are very clear

they performed at a show watched by millions which is always highly controlled and causes mass hysteria in the US  if anything happens off script

they backed the call for supporting unity

Billie wore his Spanish necklace very prominently (sorry, I forget what it’s called)

they appeared mature and rational in a time of ranting petulance in the US, they definitely have the moral high ground.

Honestly they did a great job. 

[ThranaM]

They played AI. 
They played Holiday.

They even played BOBD, which also can be read as a sign of how bad your mentality can become when your country is broken.

They did what they always do. Using their voice on our behalf and telling what's the truth. 
They didn't need to prove anything. They have always done that. For 30 years. 

Fucking love this band.

Great performance. 

[Hermione]

What was the point of just saying fuck? I don't get it. If they were willing to break the rules why not add an ICE or MAGA or Trump to that so it's not completely pointless? The only thing they have to lose is an amount of money that is nothing to them. If they just played the songs in full I think that would have worked as a form of protest but they literally removed the most political parts of both songs?! They're no longer protest songs if you do that. They had an opportunity and blew it

[Insomniac90]

They can do whatever they want and people still complaining about them. They said too much, they said nothing. Did I wanna hear the 2nd verse of AI? Sure! But they used a lot of TV shows, concerts, interviews etc to tell the truth and I think the fact they were announced after the hate about bad bunny (not my kind of music) is enough. Even some german music influencers were disappointed and criticized them for not saying a word which is stupid, but these are people listening to other bands who never say anything or take a risk like green day did.

[Hermione]

Just now, Insomniac90 said:

They can do whatever they want and people still complaining about them. They said too much, they said nothing. Did I wanna hear the 2nd verse of AI? Sure! But they used a lot of TV shows, concerts, interviews etc to tell the truth and I think the fact they were announced after the hate about bad bunny (not my kind of music) is enough. Even some german music influencers were disappointed and criticized them for not saying a word which is stupid, but these are people listening to other bands who never say anything or take a risk like green day did.

They can do what they want but they should probably stop claiming to be a punk band if they're not going to make any attempt to protest when they have their biggest opportunity to 

[sergiewoo]

6 minutes ago, Hermione said:

What was the point of just saying fuck? I don't get it. If they were willing to break the rules why not add an ICE or MAGA or Trump to that so it's not completely pointless? The only thing they have to lose is an amount of money that is nothing to them. If they just played the songs in full I think that would have worked as a form of protest but they literally removed the most political parts of both songs?! They're no longer protest songs if you do that. They had an opportunity and blew it

The fine was probably and likely a lot bigger than just 'an amount of money'

[Insomniac90]

2 minutes ago, Hermione said:

They can do what they want but they should probably stop claiming to be a punk band if they're not going to make any attempt to protest when they have their biggest opportunity to 

When was the last time they described them as a punk band? And I‘m sure you dont‘t wanna get in serious trouble with NFL when we‘re talking about money

[alecandstuff]

12 minutes ago, Hermione said:

What was the point of just saying fuck? I don't get it. If they were willing to break the rules why not add an ICE or MAGA or Trump to that so it's not completely pointless? The only thing they have to lose is an amount of money that is nothing to them. If they just played the songs in full I think that would have worked as a form of protest but they literally removed the most political parts of both songs?! They're no longer protest songs if you do that. They had an opportunity and blew it

This is sort of my feelings on it. I don’t know if it was a “missed” opportunity as we don’t really know the details of what would’ve happened if they didn’t stick to script (cutting off mics, etc) but I do remain stuck on what you’re saying here. Would the repercussions really have been that bad to not say anything at ALL? I heard BJA said some negative remarks about ICE after the cameras cut to the next segment, and I’ll give them props for chewing them out the night before in their lead up show, but I don’t know.

 

The performance itself was good, and BJA’s vocals sounded great but I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get more, y’know? This was THE moment to say something and it felt toothless because they didn’t. I get that the songs themselves touch on *some* of the issues, but I don’t think it was enough especially considering their track record

[Reverend Strychnine Twitch]

1 hour ago, Thatsername said:

"Information age of hysteria, It's calling out to idiot America" - that line sung into the silence of that big stadium hit on a completely different level. I think they have made their message pretty much clear. It is in their lyrics, it always has been. 

Well said.

[Cris.]

I feel we're overthinking this too much. 

I don't think they had to negotiate for the NFL to let them play AI and Holiday. I think NFL didn't care which songs they played, so long as they were hits that most people would recognize.

With how much hype there was about it on the internet, I thought their set was gonna be longer. But given the time constraints, a medley of their hits was the only possible option. And unless I missed something, they only did Good Riddance + AI songs, disregarding other hits like Basket Case and WICA that many people would have also recognized, so they did choose to focus on some very political songs. I too am a bit disappointed by the lack of the MAGA line, but it was a medley, we didn't even get the original line of the song. Already going on stage and singing "don't wanna be an American idiot" in front of that audience is a statement.

Just like Bad Bunny singing in Spanish is a statement, regardless of what the lyrics are saying (short run through what his songs were about in the spoiler below, if anyone is curious)

 

Spoiler

FYI, his first song is about all the girlfriends he has, the second one includes a gem of a line very explicitly about a specific sex act -- that was all the beeps you heard  --, third one is about ... dancing, next is a love song, then a celebration of Latin American/Puerto Rican culture in New York -- or "Nueva Yol" as they say, I really love this song. And from here on everything is very much a medley of songs about Latino/Puerto Rican culture. Ricky Martin comes in with a few lines of a pro-Puerto Rico song, then another very Puerto Rican song, "now everyone wants to be Latino but they lack rhythm/flavor/spice" , followed by the cafe and rhum culture, and finally Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, which is a really beautiful song "I should have taken more pictures when I had you, I should have given you more kisses and hugs when I could, I hope my people never move, and that if today I get drunk someone will look after me" 🥺 Trust me, for Latin diaspora those lines break our heart. 

 

[Hermione]

2 hours ago, sergiewoo said:

The fine was probably and likely a lot bigger than just 'an amount of money'

There's no law against saying the word "ICE" or "Trump". There's no FCC violation there. The only way it could cost them a huge amount would be if they signed a contract agreeing to pay a huge amount unless they heavily censored themselves to the extent of not even playing their songs in full. In which case they shouldn't have signed it. Like I said just playing the songs instead of saying something would have been fine but removing the most political parts and pretending like it's just a time thing is gross

2 hours ago, Insomniac90 said:

When was the last time they described them as a punk band? And I‘m sure you dont‘t wanna get in serious trouble with NFL when we‘re talking about money

Pretty sure Billie still does. If playing a song in full or mentioning a word that doesn't violate any broadcasting laws would get them in "serious trouble", rather than just losing them their fee, they shouldn't have played there. Protest by calling out their ridiculous censorship requests and not taking their money instead

1 hour ago, Cris. said:

I feel we're overthinking this too much. 

I don't think they had to negotiate for the NFL to let them play AI and Holiday. I think NFL didn't care which songs they played, so long as they were hits that most people would recognize.

With how much hype there was about it on the internet, I thought their set was gonna be longer. But given the time constraints, a medley of their hits was the only possible option. And unless I missed something, they only did Good Riddance + AI songs, disregarding other hits like Basket Case and WICA that many people would have also recognized, so they did choose to focus on some very political songs. I too am a bit disappointed by the lack of the MAGA line, but it was a medley, we didn't even get the original line of the song. Already going on stage and singing "don't wanna be an American idiot" in front of that audience is a statement.

Just like Bad Bunny singing in Spanish is a statement, regardless of what the lyrics are saying (short run through what his songs were about in the spoiler below, if anyone is curious)

 

  Hide contents

FYI, his first song is about all the girlfriends he has, the second one includes a gem of a line very explicitly about a specific sex act -- that was all the beeps you heard  --, third one is about ... dancing, next is a love song, then a celebration of Latin American/Puerto Rican culture in New York -- or "Nueva Yol" as they say, I really love this song. And from here on everything is very much a medley of songs about Latino/Puerto Rican culture. Ricky Martin comes in with a few lines of a pro-Puerto Rico song, then another very Puerto Rican song, "now everyone wants to be Latino but they lack rhythm" , followed by the cafe and rhum culture, and finally Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, which is a really beautiful song "I should have taken more pictures when I had you, I should have given you more kisses and hugs when I could, I hope my people never move, and that if today I get drunk someone will look after me" 🥺 Trust me, for Latin diaspora those lines break our heart. 

 

Playing the songs would have been a statement if they didn't massively censor the songs

[sergiewoo]

7 minutes ago, Hermione said:

There's no law against saying the word "ICE" or "Trump". There's no FCC violation there. The only way it could cost them a huge amount would be if they signed a contract agreeing to pay a huge amount unless they heavily censored themselves to the extent of not even playing their songs in full. In which case they shouldn't have signed it. Like I said just playing the songs instead of saying something would have been fine but removing the most political parts and pretending like it's just a time thing is gross

I'm pretty sure they signed it. They were forced to. ICE agents were present there too; it was stated multiple times. The reason why they removed the most political parts is because they're the most political parts. They were not allowed to say anything "overly" political. You should at least understand there's other way's they'd tried to speak out about the issue. It was extremely subtle, but it was there. And the fact that they were heavily censored already proved a point

[Hermione]

12 minutes ago, sergiewoo said:

I'm pretty sure they signed it. They were forced to. ICE agents were present there too; it was stated multiple times. The reason why they removed the most political parts is because they're the most political parts. They were not allowed to say anything "overly" political. You should at least understand there's other way's they'd tried to speak out about the issue. It was extremely subtle, but it was there. And the fact that they were heavily censored already proved a point

It's hard to say it worked as a protest when all of the press reactions and a large number of fan reactions are surprise at how they didn't do anything to protest. Not simply playing a hit song that's been played on the radio for 20 years in full is a crazy level of censorship to agree to

[That Dude]

14 hours ago, greenalert997x said:

The camera shifts to Green Day. Billie steps up to the microphone and scans the stadium. The audience falls silent...

1, 2, 3, 4...

 

 

Taking a riiiiiide to my ooooold haaaauuunts... 🎶

....Lady Cobra and Lady Gaga join him.   

[Spike]

They weren't forced to do anything, they could always have not played at all. 

Mixed feelings on this one. Are they hypocrites for playing the show and not protesting, or is it unfair to expect them to protest at such an event? Either way it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth and I kinda wish they just hadn't done it at all. 

[jengd]

Well all the reviews I can see are very positive, they blew the roof off albeit briefly

[sergiewoo]

15 minutes ago, Hermione said:

It's hard to say it worked as a protest when all of the press reactions and a large number of fan reactions are surprise at how they didn't do anything to protest. Not simply playing a hit song that's been played on the radio for 20 years in full is a crazy level of censorship to agree to

Other people's opinions on something aren't your opinions. If you have expectations on punk like this you should understand that. Most of the people saying these things are people who didn't catch the cues. They were protesting, despite how subtle it was. The problem is that now because they're so popular and have a lot of money, many people will expect them to always, with no exceptions, be able to be direct in one way or another. And it's hard to accept that isn't always true. There is a reason why punk is a thing. Suppression. Green day was suppressed at that whole performance and that alone was a protest. 

Them playing Holiday and American Idiot feels like a sellout only because they're hits. We are lucky they even got to the play those songs, let alone as much as they did.

[solongfromthestars]

It's not even a question of potential repercussions in my opinion. What good would it have done if they had made a statement? All it would've done is generate press, upset MAGA people, attract a few new fans, and allow people who already like Green Day to pat themselves on the back. Not saying that's what the disappointed people wanted (they're overly optimistic about Green Day's influence, which isn't a bad thing because optimism takes strength in the current climate) but it's all it would've achieved. No-one would have changed their mind. It wouldn't have made anyone's lives better. We wouldn't even be having more discussions about anything that needs to be talked about - we'd just be talking about what Green Day said. That probably would've been about Trump or ICE, who are already getting the attention they deserve. There also would've been people accusing Green Day of being performative and I'd understand that too.

I'd like to see Green Day using social media as well as their own shows to raise awareness of issues that aren't being talked about. That would be a lot more impactful than singing 'MAGA agenda' yet again.

[Gwen Stacy]

@solongfromthestars I actually agree with what you said, but then I’m left wondering- why bother?

If making a statement ultimately wouldn’t do anything to make a difference and not saying anything only disappoints people; you’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. And the only solution to that is not to play in the first place. It’s not like they need the money. Just to tick a career box? The whole thing just feels like a nothingburger, which sucks for a band that’s supposed to mean something. 

[Mollyluna]

2 minutes ago, Gwen Stacy said:

@solongfromthestars I actually agree with what you said, but then I’m left wondering- why bother?

If making a statement ultimately wouldn’t do anything to make a difference and not saying anything only disappoints people; you’re in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation. And the only solution to that is not to play in the first place. It’s not like they need the money. Just to tick a career box? The whole thing just feels like a nothingburger, which sucks for a band that’s supposed to mean something. 

Maybe it really was to tick a career box but in a quite positive way. It must be exhilarating to perform before such a big audience and get all the attention. And near their hometown too. Maybe they just enjoyed it…?