Most of the Cincinnati Bengals retreated to the locker room at halftime to discuss their second half strategy for Super Bowl 56. Not kicker Evan McPherson.
The rookie, who’d been responsible for four of his team’s points as it trailed the Los Angeles Rams 13-10 at the half, remained on the field to take in the dulcet tones of Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. In the process, he soaked up one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows in history.
It’s not unusual to see special teamers leave the locker room early to return to the field for warm-ups — especially at the Super Bowl, whose extra large halftime show leaves room for a bigger break than usual. This postseason alone we’ve seen 49ers veteran Robbie Gould sequester himself from his team to take some extra kicks during pregame activities.
But the specialists in those situations were actually kicking. McPherson, on the other hand, was mostly invested in enjoying the hottest beats of the late 1990s (he was -7 years old when Dr. Dre’s The Chronic came out).
Evan McPherson really stayed on the field for the halftime show 😂 pic.twitter.com/cfTf11PMQ4
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) February 14, 2022
McPherson’s been able to rise to the moment all year. He kicked more 50+ yard field goals than anyone in 2021. He’s connected on all 14 of his field goal attempts in the playoffs, including one in the first five minutes of the third quarter Sunday. He’s been a vital piece of Cincinnati’s run to Super Bowl 56.
So if anyone deserved to see Dre and Snoop live — and who probably didn’t need too much strategic advice at halftime besides “keep kicking it straight” — it was the rookie kicker in tiger stripes.
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