So in 1993 a few hundred lucky kids in the Los Angeles area got a once in a lifetime experience…perform in the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Michael Jackson! Now, just to give you a little background on me, I was the BIGGEST MJ fan I knew! My cousins and I would play Thriller about 500 times a day and re-inact the video. We all had the Michael Jackson doll (mine had on the Beat It outfit with one shinny silver glove). When MJ caught on fire, I cried! So needless to say this was huge for me!
We practiced for weeks, never with Michael of course (I was one of the kids on the field in black and white with the black and white board; left side, in one of the first 3 rows, on the very end closest to the end zone), so I knew I was going to be excited when he came out! Our coaches and the choreographers kept telling us that when MJ comes out, we have to remember that we are part of the performance and that we have to control our emotions. I was like, come on now, “I’m a dancer, a performer, I’m not going to be like these other people at his concerts passing out and acting all crazy”.
Performance begins, POP, out the top of one jumbo-tron, “aww, nope that’s not him, must be an impersonator”, I thought. Then again, POP, out of the second jumbo-tron, “what do they think I’m stupid, that’s so not him”, I said. Then, big explosion, and POP, out comes MJ in the center of the stage! I LOST MY MIND! Commence the screaming, pulling my hair, threw down my board, darted for the stage, and yes, peed on myself just a little! Our coaches were on the sidelines yelling at us to get into position, but we all had lost it! We finally pulled ourselves together, but that was the most exhilarating experience in my life!
Being that I never got to see him in concert, I am so glad I had the opportunity to participate in this show. It’s definitely one of the coolest things that I have done in my life!
RIP MJ