Ozzy Osbourne’s NFL Halftime Set Gets Only 10 Seconds of Airtime
Rock fans who excitedly tuned into NBC’s opening game of the NFL season on Thursday night were left disappointed as the network opted to air only 10 seconds of Ozzy Osbourne’s halftime performance.
The Prince of Darkness had been hyping his performance over the past week, with multiple social media posts promoting the halftime set. Adding to the excitement, the performance coincided with the release of Osbourne's new album, Patient Number 9.
Yet, when the cameras turned on, the 73-year-old metal icon got very little screen time. Osbourne was already in the middle of the new album's title track when NBC's Maria Taylor introduced the performance. The broadcast then showed Osbourne - along with drummer Tommy Clufetos, bassist Chris Chaney and producer Andrew Watt on guitar - rocking out at midfield. After about 10 seconds, the broadcast cut to game analysis from NBC's halftime crew.
Fan-shot videos showed that Osbourne delivered a second song, the classic "Crazy Train," with guitarist Zakk Wylde. However, NBC did not show any of that performance.
The halftime set marked Osbourne's first U.S. performance in more than three years. His last stateside gig took place on Dec. 31, 2018.
Osbourne, who has been plagued by health issues in recent years, has slowly been returning to the public’s eye. On July 22, the legendary rocker appeared at Comic-Con in San Diego. Weeks later, he was in Manchester, England, performing the Black Sabbath classic “Paranoid” alongside Tony Iommi during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
His performance at a high-profile Los Angeles sporting event comes with a little bit of irony. The singer recently announced he was moving away from the city and back to England. Initially, Osbourne said the decision was based on Los Angeles’ high tax rate, but he later declared that gun violence in the U.S. was the deciding factor.