Superbowl Soapbox

Did Madonna rock the house Sunday night or WHAT?! YES! SHE DID! That was the best Superbowl Halftime Show I have seen in years. In fact, I really can't remember a better one! I guess the Black Eyed Peas weren't too bad, either, but I'm a True Blue Material Girl, and it was Super fun to see Madonna back in her element (every single pun intended). Which is why I am pissed that people are being so critical of her.
Do I think she copied Lady Gaga with her entrance and her theme? Well, yes, that was obvious. But it was still fun to watch, and even though The 4 B's are the biggest Gaga fans you will ever find (okay, the biggest straight Lady Gaga fans you will ever find!), Madonna DID pave the way for Gaga. Madonna was the Gaga of the 90's. Remember those days? She was always shocking everyone and pushing the envelope, but her music was awesome and frankly, timeless, because it still sounds good today. So what if she wanted to give the world a little reminder of that?

Truly, Madonna is a living legend, an icon! How can people be so mean and critical? Her dancing was slow? Well, at 50 some odd years, she could certainly dance me into the ground. There's no way I could keep up with her, even though I am over a decade younger than her. And her outfit was silly? Are you KIDDING ME? It was a family friendly outfit, at least - what was the problem with it? I've seen Katy Perry and Lady Gaga wear far worse outfits, for sure. Isn't that the whole POINT of today's performances? To dress the part? To be entertaining? I think Madonna's outfit was FUN!
Yes, if you can't tell, I'm a big Madonna fan, and I always have been. I've loved her music from the first day I heard it. I remember thinking she was so beautiful, so talented and possibly the coolest woman on the planet, back when I was a teenager. I remember listening to her True Blue album (via cassette, mind you) on a certain bus trip back when I was a lowly freshman during my high school years at Crane. I hate to admit to such a degrading detail of my past, but I sang every word of every song the entire ride home on that bus, many times, and I'm sure I drove everyone out of their ever-loving minds! By the way, if you were on that bus that long ago night, I'm sorry for being so immature and silly and annoying. What can I say? I was young and dumb. Today, I wouldn't be caught dead singing in front of a busload of kids! My sincere apologies to everyone on that bus who had to endure my karaoke-like performance... (If only we could go back and relive our high school days!)
Maybe I am overly sensitive to criticism. I myself have been criticized my entire life. I have a hard time remembering a time in my life when I wasn't being judged (which could possibly account for my low self-esteem and time in the counselor's office - ya think?). I guess I feel Madonna's pain, or any body's pain from being criticized by the world. I've stuck up for Lady Gaga a hundred thousand times... I am sick and tired to death of everyone picking on everyone and I just wish we could put some POSITIVE out into the world instead of judgment.
Some of you will say "they are celebrities and fair game," but I think that's a cop out. We are all responsible for our own actions. We all have a choice to be nice, and for me, that's really what it all comes down to. Why can't people just be nice? Because if we're being honest, celebrities aren't the only people we criticize. It is easy to see where teenagers get their criticism of one another from - right from us, the adults who are supposed to be leading them and showing them how to be good, accepting people in this world. Is it really so hard to pay a compliment to somebody?
Seriously, walk a mile in the Material Girl's shoes and think about how "easy" it was to get in front of billions of people to put on the performance of a lifetime. I seriously doubt if the people who are being critical of Madonna could hold a candle to her. She made it look easy, and I'm positive it wasn't. I know she isn't perfect, but neither am I, and neither, I'm guessing, are you...