I gave up my OU season tickets in favor of Thunder season tickets five years ago, so I see a ton of these acts and honestly, they are all pretty much awful. It doesn't mean that the particular talent or skill on display isn't impressive, but the are all so Vaudeville. If I had to guess, I'd say I've seen Red Panda at least five times and perhaps as many as 7-8. It's a cool little trick I guess, but it entertains me for about a minute and a half before I'm ready for her to cycle away and My God, that music.....it's just.....My God.
But she is better than most for sure. Christopher--- the Village People dancing puppet guy-- well, he's just awful. And then there is just a parade of balancing acts and tumblers that are all the same.
The following is an excerpt from my Thunder blog a month or so ago about THE halftime act....
3. Darek and Jarek: OK, so if you've followed the blog over the past couple of years you've heard me go on about Duo Design. Of all the Vaudevillian halftime acts that roll through Chesapeake, these two Polish Brothers are probably my favorite. Or, maybe "favorite" isn't the best choice of words...I find them the most entertaining. If you haven't seen them, go do a quick google search for "Duo Design." If you don't want to do that, just picture two virtually naked dudes painted gold balancing in asinine positions on one another. Not only are they naked and painted a shiny gold, the music played during their routine could best be described as "intense" as is their general demeanor. They are either here to do some acrobatics or kill you. Maybe both. Anyway, in addition to the intensity, the homoeroticism is pretty hard to ignore. Every time they engage in their routine, there is one part where the crowd gasps almost in unison. I'm not sure if it's Darek or Jarek, but one of them winds up putting his nose about three inches away from the other's nether-region. For a brief moment you feel as if you need to hide your eyes-- you really aren't sure what's going on or what is about to happen. After a momentary panic, you realize he is just transitioning from being held up by his hands to being held up by his feet, but it truly is awkward getting there. And again, this chamber-esque Euro music playing in the background doesn't help. My daughter was totally fascinated by these guys. It stunk for me because I was unable to crack my usual jokes during the annual Darek and Jarek routine-- the jokes would have been both unappreciated and inappropriate given my audience. So I had to settle for some internal chuckles. At one point she did ask me why they were wearing underwear only and I did not have a good response-- because I really don't know either. I asked if maybe she and her four year old brother could do some of those moves and she rolled her eyes at me. Then, a few minutes later either Darek was planking on Jarek's shoulders or Jarek was planking on Darek's shoulders and she said completely earnestly, "maybe we could do that?" When we got home after the game, the first thing she told my wife about wad the halftime show-- she even got on the floor to demonstrate a few moves. She remained fully clothed. Considering my son knocked her tooth out the other day (it was loose to begin with) just wrestling around, I can only look forward to the medical issues to follow if she convinces him to try some of what she learned Wednesday night from Darek and Jarek. They usually make a return trip in the playoffs, and I gotta admit-- I'll be happy to see them if they do.
