Bad Bunny, as you have obviously heard many times, is the headliner act of the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. This is deemed “controversial” by many, and even “offensive” by some. Why? Well, racism- that’s why. America is a country that only platforms white supremacy, it actually supports an entire media ecosystem, and sociopolitical echo chamber that is entirely rooted in this bigoted concept.
But enough about that; we’re not here to get into that. It has been written and discussed plenty enough already.
The NFL hired Bad Bunny because he is an extremely popular musical artist; plain and simple. In fact, he’s Spotify’s most-streamed artist. So let’s just move on from that and get into what we’re actually here to talk about. And that is the first time Bad Bunny was strongly intertwined with sports:
Cardi B’s 2018 single “I Like It,” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin
As you can see, Bad Bunny is rocking a 2017 Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic jersey.
He starts performing his part around the 1:25 mark in the video.
He even “pops his collar” for his native Puerto Rico (he’s from Bayamon), and when you turn around, you see “Beltran #15” on the back.
Yep, he’s repping Hall of Very Very Good member Carlos Beltran, who made the All-Star team 9x during his Major League career and won a World Series during his final season (2017) with Houston. Beltran, a 3x Gold Glove and 2x Silver Slugger, was also inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame.
As for the Puerto Rican national team, they finished runners-up at that ’17 WBC, following up on another runner’s up performance in 2013.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.