The Super Bowl halftime show did not start as the cultural monster it is now. For years, they were treated like background noise.

Once upon a Super Bowl, halftime meant marching bands and snack runs-until the NFL realized people were leaving.

The evolution of the Super Bowl halftime show traces not just changing music tastes, but shifting ideas about what America feels comfortable celebrating in public. If you look at Super Bowl halftime shows one by one instead of treating them as a blur,

The last few years of Super Bowl halftimes have done pretty well, but NFL history certainly includes some mid-big-game entertainment fumbles.