NFL Legend Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson Goes on an Epic Rant Against Bad Bunny Doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Alika Jenner. Getty Images.

Few figures in NFL history can claim to be as accomplished as the great Eric Dickerson. If you got to see him play, no explanation is necessary. If you're so young that you didn't, none will suffice. A four-time rushing champion. Eight seasons with over 1,000 yards. A six-time Pro Bowler. Five times an All Pro. He still holds the NFL record for a single season with 2,105 rushing yards that will never be broken no matter how many games Ginger Satan keeps adding to the regular season. He remains in the Top 10 for all time career rushing yards. He also holds the single-game playoff record that will likely never be approached when he trampled the Dallas Cowboys for 248 yards and two scores:

Given he's member of the All Decade Team for the 1980s and a first ballot Hall of Famer in the Class of 1999, this should tell you one indisputable fact about this all time legend of the game:

Eric Dickerson is an Old. To be precise, he's 65 years old. Meaning he's at retirement age for anyone in an ordinary profession. In that stage of life where all of us ordinary slobs would start collecting a pension and Social Security, investing it all the reverse mortgages Tom Selleck sells and whatever precious metals William Devane is pushing, and falling asleep in front of ME-TV every night at 9:30. As someone who's not there yet but sees that time of my life fast approaching, I can relate. 

Being a man of 65 means one other thing for everyone blessed enough to reach that age. It means the popular culture has passed you by and left you in the dust. That's why you're nodding off in the chair before you get to the end of Rockford Files. And it definitely means you haven't liked a Super Bowl halftime show since probably The Who 15 years ago. And the days of the Geezer Rock you grew up on are long since gone, and they are not coming back. Not this year:

Not ever. Bad Bunny might be a great choice for people Nate's age. But Dickerson is one Gold Jacketed superstar who is not afraid to yell at clouds about the choice:

Source -  Eric Dickerson is urging Bad Bunny to pull out of the Super Bowl halftime show if he is, indeed, not a fan of the United States … saying the "Tití Me Preguntó" crooner should straight up "keep his ass where he's at" if he truly feels some type of way about the Red, White and Blue.

                   

The NFL legend made his opinion loud and clear during a chat with a photog out at LAX on Monday night … saying he's "heard some stuff" Bad Bunny's said about America -- and if it's true, he'd rather anyone else play during February's big game.

"I'm from the U.S.," Dickerson said. "I love my country. And if you don't like the United States, just get your ass out of here and don't come over here."

                   

When Dickerson was reminded Puerto Rico -- where Bad Bunny's from -- is a U.S. territory, he still stood by his stance.

"I know Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.," the ex-Rams tailback said. "But, it's not the U.S. That's the way I look at it. That's the way I feel. …

"If Bad Bunny said something about the U.S., don't come here and perform," Dickerson said. "You know, don't come here."

                   

"Stay in your country."

I have no doubt Dickerson will catch hell for this. And not just the kind of strays he took during that short stint he had on Monday Night Football in 2000 when he was not exactly the most polished broadcaster in network TV history. It seems Bad Bunny has one of, if not the, biggest followings in all of music. And those hundreds of millions of devoted fans aren't going to be receptive to a man in his mid-60s telling him to go back to his "country," which is a sovereign territory of Dickerson's country. 

But I hope those same people will take pity. This isn't about politics or national origin. It's an issue of being a Boomer. It's about finding yourself aged out of the target demo advertisers want to sell soft drinks to. It's watching the culture move on from things you like to things you can't possibly comprehend. His reaction to Bad Bunny is not at all unlike my sainted mom, who loved Sinatra, Streisand and Rosemary Clooney, seeing how excited her teenage son was because DEVO was on SNL:

… and wondering if the world was coming to an end.

His is just version of what I went through a couple of Super Bowls ago when my son texted that he and his girlfriend were loving the show and on the couch singing every one of the songs. Then my guests getting the exact same text from their daughter and her boyfriend. And when I replied this was not the music for me, we had this exchange:

Son: "C'mon, dad! 50 Cent got shot 8 times. M&M's father abandoned the family and his uncle committed suicide. And look at what they've done with their lives!"

Me: "Stevie Wonder was born blind and can perform circles around everyone on this stage."

Son: "You sound old!"

Me: "I am." 

It's not about hating the artist. It's not about hating the art. It's more of a Circle of Life thing. You kids enjoy Bad Bunny. Guys like me, my friends, and Eric Dickerson will be in the kitchen filling our plates and grabbing another beer.