The Foo Fighters want to play the Super Bowl halftime show — if the NFL will let them.
It was reported this week that pop rockers Maroon 5 would play 2019’s Super Bowl halftime show. But it came as a surprise to Foo Fighters, one of the other biggest active rock bands in the world who conveniently have never played the Super Bowl either.
Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins however appeared on LA’s KROQ to promote their upcoming Cal Jam festival and said they’ve had “multiple conversations” about the gig.
“I’ve had multiple conversations over the years with them where they say, ‘We want to have a rock and roll band. Do you think you could do it? Do you think you could do a stadium,” Grohl said Friday, with the hosts noting that they’ve played many stadiums for years. “I was like, yeah man, we do it all the time. You get so close. And you think, Oh my God, I think we’re going to do the Super Bowl, and then it’ll be Madonna or Katy Perry.”
In the 2000s, the Super Bowl opted for more legacy rock acts, including Paul McCartney, U2, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. But in the 2010s, more contemporary pop acts with wide, mass appeal have been chosen, including Justin Timberlake last year and Lady Gaga the year before. Coldplay was the last rock band to have headlined the halftime show back in 2016, but they shared the stage with Beyonce and Bruno Mars. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lenny Kravitz have also made guest appearances in recent years.
Grohl however joked that he may have burned his chance a long time ago.
“I actually got really hammered in this party at France, and I got to meet the guy who does the Super Bowl, and I was like, ‘I don’t even want to do the Super Bowl,” Grohl said in a jokingly inebriated voice.
Hawkins also threw a little shade at Adam Levine and company’s way in the process.
“Not to be negative to Maroon 5, but it always feels like the final chapter to your career,” Hawkins said. “We’re just trying to come up with excuses for why we haven’t done it.”
Listen to the whole interview with Grohl and Hawkins over at KROQ. The Super Bowl takes place Feb. 3, 2019.