Thursday night showcased the Orange Bowl between the Pen State Nittany Lions and Notre Dame Fighting Irish for the college football playoff semifinal. The game served as a welcome distraction for the country, coming off of both the horrific terrorist attack in New Orleans and the devastating fires ravaging through California.
After a slugfest of a first half, the Nittany Lions held the lead at 10-3 heading into the break. Unfortunately, during the halftime show, some fans felt as if they needed to boycott what they were witnessing on their screens.
Country music star Nate Smith performed inside of Hard Rock Stadium, the Orange Bowl’s venue in an event that was broadcast live on ESPN. Fans weren’t very happy with what was transpiring.
Fans reacted to Smith’s performance on social media, and many just refused to engage with the halftime show entirely.
“I had to mute my TV,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Had to mute halftime. Need much more advance warning when something as bad as Nate Smith is about to happen,” one fan added.
“Nate smith had to be hammered for that bro couldn’t lip sync the one song he’s known for,” one fan added.
“I like Nate Smith. Really, I do. But I’m not sure I like him – or anyone – enough for a halftime concert during a semifinal game,” one fan wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see if ESPN learns anything from the failed experiment.