Baby, we were born to fade

Bruce Springsteen’s little gig on Super Bowl Sunday got a few favorable reviews, which made me wonder what in the world some people were watching.

Springsteen’s 58 years old and looked every day of it despite all of the effort expended jumping on the piano, sliding into a camera, and whatever he was doing with his guitar. But worse than how he looked was how he sounded.

Not trusting his aging pipes, Springsteen on a few key notes didn’t throw a Hail Mary — to borrow his revamped phraseology for “Glory Days” — but settled instead for a dump-off pass.

At one point my wife opined, “The only thing that could save this set is a wardrobe malfunction.” She also noted that Steve Van Zandt “is starting to look like Mama Cass.” (hmmm … maybe Andrea Shapiro should be writing this blog.)

Sadder than the Boss and the E-Street Band were the fools who provided the scenery — the adoring crowd, who had to endure two days of rehearsal in order to be used as props. And no, they didn’t get paid. And, no, they didn’t get to watch the game. And, no, they couldn’t hear a darned thing.

And yes, as they pumped their fists with faux enthusiasm, they looked pretty pathetic.

For the view of what it was like on the field, see Rick O’Reilly’s ESPN piece (link below).

In the publicity run-up to the event, Springsteen told reporters, “We’re a bunch of old soldiers, but the band is still burning.”

Uh … no.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3883771