INDIANAPOLIS —
Suddenly, she arrived, with her famous bleached blond hair, the almond-shaped eyes, the ruby-red lips.
Madonna, in the flesh, was standing in front of about 500 media members, in Indianapolis.
And Super Bowl XLVI Week had just kicked into high gear.
The halftime show performer at the Super Bowl, The Material Girl, was soaking up the press attention Thursday, throwing out a mix of coy one-liners and gracious statements to a mix of glamorous entertainment reporters and not-so-glamorous sports guys.
“This is a Midwestern girl’s dream,” said the native of Bay City, Mich. “So if I speak too fast, or I seem out of breath, you’ll know why.”
She didn’t offer many details of her show, which will be produced by longtime collaborator Jamie King and which will feature performers from Cirque du Soleil, saying she wants the audience — an estimated 170 million viewers — to be surprised.
“The envelope I’m pushing is just for a spectacular show, which will entertain all age groups and be a feast for the eyes and the ears,” she said
“I want people to be knocked off their seats from beginning to end.”
But if Madonna isn’t planning anything the least bit coquettish, her legion of fans will be sorely disappointed. She promised that won’t happen, and also promised her wardrobe will function properly.
“Great attention to detail has been paid to my wardrobe. There will be no wardrobe malfunction,” she vowed, referring to a Super Bowl past at which Janet Jackson’s breast was revealed in what was later blamed on wardrobing.
Madonna didn’;t think so, but numerous sources are reporting this will be the performer’s first visit to Indianapolis. “I could swear I did [visit Indy], like 18 years ago,” she said.
Clearly, she’s more focused on the show than the venue, anyway. Asked how she likes Indy, she responded, “I love it, it’s great,” and smiled charmingly.
She said her kids may go to the Children’s Museum, but she’ll be strictly going “from hotel to the stadium,” while she’s here.
Her fans are hoping she’s recovered from a recent injury; she confessed she’s still nursing a sore hamstring, but said she’ll be fine.
Asked by a sports reporter whether she thinks New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will play, and how she’d deal with a high ankle sprain, Madonna made it clear she’s no stranger to playing through pain.
“A lot of people would say I’m a masochist. Just tape my ankle, say my prayers and take an anti-inflammatory and get out there,” is how she said she’d handle it, dodging the Gronkowski question.
She gave some thoughtful answers to Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Gerald McCoy, who was moonlighting as an entertainment reporter.
Asked for career advice, she had two bits to offer.
“If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, or you don’t have passion in what you do, quit right now,” she said.
“Number two, don’t take anything personally.”
She hinted she may perform her new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” which is coming out this week, and said she plans to perform four songs: “three old songs, and one new one.”
She mugged for Japanese television, and performed a salsa dance at the urging of an ESPN Deportes reporter, said she’d never known former boyfriend Alex Rodriguez to have a massive painting of himself, depicted as a centaur, but allowed that he did have “a large picture of me, laying on a horse.”
And she finally chose Giants quarterback Eli Manning when asked whether she’d prefer to go out with either Manning or New England quarterback Tom Brady. Manning “lives in New York, and I don’t want them to waste gas,” she said. She gave a saucy shrug when asked if she’d be rooting for the Giants.
And with that, she was off, leaving her audience buzzing. In 20 minutes, Madonna conquered Indy.
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Madonna prepares our halftime feast
‘I want people to be knocked off their seats,’ says Material Girl
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