In another thread about the Super Bowl that has since been closed
I gushed on about the exhilarating experience of being an audience member for the halftime show, and a few people asked me questions. I answered
one but popped offline before the others came in. Since I cannot respond to them in that thread, I hope no one minds that I'm posting here instead.
@Tiny Bible asked, "Do the invited members who are on the field for the half time performances get to meet the musical talent that's there too?"
The Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) who performed with Coldplay attended more rehearsals with them, and also got to meet Beyonce, Mark Ronson, and Bruno Mars. They devoted a tremendous amount of time and energy into preparing for the show. Chris Martin even led everyone in singing "Happy Birthday" to one of the kids. Our part in the show wasn't nearly as important, and we didn't personally interact with any of the professional musicians. We chatted with the kids, who all raved about how humble, friendly, and welcoming all the celebrities were to them. It was clear they were sincerely valued for their immense talent and contributions to the show.
We were just audience members surrounding the stage but never on it, and our instructions were basically just to have a blast and not run into any of the camera crew. Some got close enough for a high five from Chris Martin or Beyonce, but I don't think any of us actually met them. Everyone attended a six hour rehearsal on January 31, but most of that focus was on those who were actually performing. Little factoid - Beyonce's mic was turned off so that people couldn't hear her song since it hadn't been released yet.
@Butterfly99 wrote, "It says the video can't be played here but I'll watch it on YouTube. Can you see yourself in it? How did you guys get picked for that? That would have been incredible for real."
Oopsie daisies, I hadn't realized the video couldn't be played here. Yes, I can see the back of myself for a nanosecond at the 4 second mark, haha. I wasn't close enough to the stage to be captured on camera much. Some of my friends were clearly visible.
The coordinator for the halftime show invited several student groups from Stanford to participate as audience members, including two that I'm in. None of us were invited individually, so it wasn't something we'd earned but just lucked into. The Broncos had practiced on campus, and it's possible we were invited as a show of thanks. Or, the coordinator might have simply been seeking a group of people who could follow basic instructions and be wildly enthusiastic during the show, haha.