Super Bowl halftime shows don’t flop like they used to

Janet Jackson covers herself after the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the hands of Justin Timberlake during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. | Elise Amendola/AP

They command the field at halftime of the Super Bowl, bursting with excitement and thrilled at the chance to shine in front of a stadium crowd and a home viewing audience of some 100 million.

They are …

THE WILDLY OVERACTING FANS SURROUNDING THE HALFTIME STAGE.

They bounce up and down as if they’ve just won the lottery. Sometimes they wave glow-in-the-dark props. They cheer wildly, leaving no doubt this is the greatest entertainment experience ever.

Then they either go to work helping to dismantle the stage and carry off equipment, or they exit the premises immediately.

They do not Pass Go. They do not collect $200 or even a single buck. Nor are they allowed to watch the game.

They do it all for free.

In the grand tradition of Tom Sawyer getting kids to help him whitewash Aunt Polly’s fence, the Super Bowl production team annually accepts applications for unpaid “Field Team Members” who will be “assisting with moving and assembling the … halftime show stage” and also be part of that on-field fan club.

Fan volunteers cheer on Bruce Springsteen during his 2009 Super Bowl performance.

The Field Team Member Schedule includes an orientation and at least one rehearsal in advance of game day.

As the application explains, “[T]he field team position will require you to push, pull, bend and lift up to 50 pounds of weight. … You are aware that being part of the field team does not allow you to watch the Super Bowl …”

What a deal!

Ah, but why not. If you’re young and energetic and you’ve got the time, you can see a mini-performance by Lady Gaga or Katy Perry without having to fork over hundreds for a ticket.

(BTW: The performers don’t get paid either. They do it for the promotion and publicity.)

This year the super-charged fans will be rhapsodically grooving to the performances of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, who will no doubt look amazing and dance with great energy while fronting some amazing, Vegas-worthy, visually spectacular numbers.

You can actually place wagers on the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, e.g., you can bet on which Jennifer Lopez songs will be sung first.

“On the Floor” is 4/1. “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” is 12/1. And if you bet $100 on “I’m Gonna Be Alright” as J. Lo’s first number and it comes through, you’d get $1,800.

Here’s a sure thing for you: Before J. Lo and Shakira are halfway through the performance, half the Twitterverse will be singing their praises and calling this the best Super Bowl halftime show ever, while the other half will be calling it a career-killing bomb from which they’ll never recover.

Prince performs in a downpour at Super Bowl XLI.

The truth will be found somewhere in between. With a few very rare highs (Prince performing “Purple Rain” in the rain at Super Bowl XLI in Miami) and lows (hello, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake), modern-era Super Bowl halftime shows are usually quickly lost to pop culture history and rarely change our opinions of the featured acts.

• • •

Most lists of the best and worst Super Bowl halftime shows ignore the first 20 or so years, when college marching bands and old-timey showbiz types and the pep-pop act Up With People were the go-to acts.

One year, George Burns and Mickey Rooney were part of the halftime festivities. Another time, the big-band singer Helen O’Connell took center stage.

In 1989, NBC and Coca-Cola asked Super Bowl viewers to pick up a pair of 3-D glasses in advance of an “interactive” spectacle involving an Elvis impersonator/magician with the stage name of “Elvis Presto” in a gold lame outfit who did a horrendous job of lip-synching a medley of 1950s hits before performing “The Biggest Ever Card Trick” in a show titled, “Bebop Bam Boozled.”

It was worse than it sounds.

(Sensing the impending Titanic of halftime shows, a young Bob Costas didn’t even bother to hide his trepidation in his recorded introduction as he said, “It’s almost too exciting too bear, isn’t it?”, and noted, “Before we go any further, I’d just like to say publicly, this is the single proudest moment of my life.”)

Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle teamed up for an Indiana Jones-themed halftime show in 1995.

As recently as 1995, the halftime show was still leaning on kitschy spectacle. To promote its upcoming Indiana Jones theme park ride, Disney orchestrated an adventure extravaganza with Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett lip-syncing as a Harrison Ford knockoff costumed as Indy tried to steal a cheap-looking Lombardi trophy replica from a temple.

• • •

Compared to those often underwhelming, sometimes anachronistic, occasionally horrifying early halftime shows, even the lesser of the modern-day shows (The Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson debacle, the Who phoning it in) seem like Rock and Roll Hall of Fame moments.

Beyonce sings during the 2013 Super Bowl halftime show.

And every once in a while, the halftime show becomes something truly electric, as when Prince performed “Purple Rain” and “All Along the Watchtower” in 2007, or when Bruce Springsteen made it clear this wasn’t a show, this a CONCERT in 2009, or when Beyonce commanded every moment in 2013.

Or in 2002, just four months after 9/11, when U2 — a great Irish band that loves this great country — took the stage and performed “Where the Streets Have No Name” in front of an enormous backdrop scrolling the names of the victims.

For the fans crowding the stage that year, the experience had to be absolutely priceless.