At the “Frankfurt Games” the Kansas City Chiefs played against the Miami Dolphins in Germany. Nico Santos performed during halftime. Image: imago images / Roger Buerke
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The NFL is a guest in Frankfurt, the Kansas City Chiefs welcome the Miami Dolphins in front of almost 50,000 fans in the sold-out Waldstadion. And as is usual for American football, in addition to the sporting aspect, the focus is also on entertainment.
Analogous to the infamous half-time show at the Super Bowl, the league final and, in the USA, one of the biggest sporting events of the year, a pompous concert also takes place during the half-time break at the guest game on the Main. The performing artists: Nico Santos and Kontra K.
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Before the game, not everyone was convinced that they wanted to translate this thoroughly American tradition into German. After all, on paper it is “just” a regular league game, with no show at halftime in the USA. But it’s not a completely normal league game. And that’s what Nico Santos and Kontra K also wanted to convey.
Sound problems at NFL halftime show
After a dominant first half in which the Chiefs took a 21-0 lead, it was now up to the two musicians to maintain the ecstatic mood. Introduced as “superstars” by former German NFL player Björn Werner, they entered the comparatively minimalist stage setup after a short renovation, but did not trigger the desired euphoria in the stadium.
Instead of Nico Santos’ angelic voice, there was more of a booming clatter coming out of the speakers. Even with Kontra K, who took the stage a little later, the technical inadequacies seemed to persist. The singing sounded distorted and was sometimes difficult to understand. There was correspondingly little emotion from the stands.
At the end of the medley, the first players streamed back onto the field. An atmospheric concert atmosphere was not created.
The performance also met with relatively little approval on social media. For some, the sound problems also posed a problem for television broadcasts.
A user on X, formerly Twitter, remarked: “What’s wrong with the sound and lighting at the halftime show? You can feel sorry for Nico Santos.” Another person apologized in advance in the event that the halftime show was also broadcast in the USA.
There were also sound problems with Kontra K.Image: imago images / Roger Buerke
In general, entertainment shows in the middle of sporting events have a difficult time in Germany. Helene Fischer and Boss Hoss, among others, have been criticized in the past for their appearances in a sporting context. With Nico Santos and Kontra K, however, the criticism was less about the content and more about the technical problems.