Like fans across the world, Lamar Jackson wants to watch Beyoncé during halftime of Wednesday’s Christmas game between his Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans.
So what’s the Ravens quarterback to do? The answer is simple. He’s going to watch.
Jackson was asked on Monday if it was disappointing that Beyoncé is performing at a halftime show that he can’t watch. It turns out that it won’t be a problem for Jackson — at least in his eyes.
“Nah, cause I’m gonna go out there and watch,” Jackson said. “I’m gonna go out there and watch, man. First time seeing Beyoncé perform, and it’s at our game. That’s dope.
“I’m gonna go out there and watch. Sorry, Harbaugh. Sorry. Sorry, fellas.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh has not weighed in.
If Jackson does sneak out of the locker room to catch the halftime show, he wouldn’t be the first player to do so. Though he might be the first to announce his plans ahead of time. And he might be the first quarterback.
Past players to sneak out to catch the halftime show
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson famously watched the halftime show headlined by Dr. Dre when Cincinnati played and lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI. Like Jackson, McPherson wasn’t trying to hide it. He was out there on the field dancing and singing along in full view of NBC’s cameras.
Bengals long snapper Clark Harris also watched the halftime show, but stayed out of view of TV cameras. Months after Cincinnati’s 23-20 loss, Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons called his players’ halftime shenanigans “a sore subject.”
He was particularly perturbed with Harris for missing out on special teams adjustments during halftime.
“I just couldn’t find him,” Simmons told The Athletic of Harris in 2022 “I looked all around the locker room and I can’t find him.
“I have to go on and make adjustments with everybody else. I had to move two players and make adjustments with the punt team. I don’t have the key cog in that. That’s what frustrated me the most.”
Harris told The Athletic that his absence “didn’t screw anything up.”
“The fact I wasn’t in there for that didn’t screw anything up, but could potentially have been a thing,” Harris said.
Harris played the following season with the Bengals, then retired after a 15-season NFL career spent mostly in Cincinnati.
Hall of Fame Cowboys receiver also skipped out on a Super Bowl halftime locker room to watch Michael Jackson perform during Dallas’ 52-17 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. The Cowboys held a 28-10 lead at halftime. That was in 1993.
Irvin didn’t admit to it until 2017. And he said that he wasn’t alone.
“Man, listen. Jimmy Johnson was trying to talk about the game plan and everything,” Irvin told the Rich Eisen show in 2017. “And we’re sitting right here, ‘Come on coach.’ And then half of us sneaking out the back going to watch Michael Jackson. …
“Because I wanted to go see Michael Jackson, man. That was the moment right there. … “And the next day the critics said, ‘The greatest halftime show ever.'”
Both Irvin and McPherson snuck out during Super Bowls. Wednesday’s Ravens-Texans game is a late-season matchup of playoff teams, and the Ravens are in a battle with the Steelers for the NFC North title. But the stakes are obviously lower. Meanwhile, the halftime show is Super Bowl-caliber.
Will Jackson follow through on his halftime plans in what projects to be a competitive game? Or will Harbaugh put the kibosh on it before Jackson has the chance?
