Mentally, I’m still here.
I know Post Malone as he headlines the halftime show on Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs, but nothing will ever top Dolly Parton’s performance in 2023… I think Posty would certainly agree with that, too.
Of course, playing the Cowboys game at halftime has become an important tradition, and they always pull out all the stops to get a big star to put on a big show. Aside from the Super Bowl halftime show, it’s the biggest concert that happens during an NFL game all year.
And in case you (somehow) forgot, in 2023, Dolly put on a show-stopping performance that I don’t think anyone saw coming, as she trotted out onto the stage during halftime wearing the iconic Dallas Cowboys cheerleading uniform that barely anyone can really pull off, much less a woman who is pushing 80 (she’s 79)… but most people aren’t Dolly Parton, obviously.
Running through hits like “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” in addition to a cover of the Queen hit “We Are The Champions,” Dolly was still promoting her massive Rockstar album, and it was quite a moment.
Of course, most us were stuck on her dazzling outfit, which her manager, Danny Nozell, later told Billboard was all Dolly’s idea, and no one else knew anything about it… and yes, they all “fainted” when she walked out of the dressing room and they saw her for the first time:
“Dolly didn’t tell or show anyone that she was going to dress as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader until it was time to go to the stage. It was completely her idea. She waited until right before she went to stage and came out of the dressing room to show us all.
When she came out, myself, the security and my staff fainted. I couldn’t tell the difference between Dolly and the cheerleaders. That is the genius of Dolly, and people are still talking about it.”
In today’s world that is so social media-focused and out there in terms of what’s surprising anymore, Dolly created a moment here that had the entire world watching, which is hard enough to do, much less when you’re “passed the peak” of your career (I think she’s the exception because in so many ways, Dolly has never felt more relevant), which made this so much more impressive.
The Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders 45-10, but no one was talking about the game… they were all talking about Dolly.
Possibly my favorite part about it, though, was hearing Dolly talk about her decision to wear the DCC outfit on live national TV, which she admitted she was a little nervous to do… but she reasoned that if she did pull it off, it would be “good,” and if not, she could pass it off as “an old woman doing a stupid a** thing.”
How can you not love her…
“But I thought, ‘Well at my age, if I can pull it off, it’s going to be good. And if I don’t, I can just pass it off as an old woman doing a stupid a** thing. I’ve always said my desire to do something is greater than my fear of it.”
Well, she obviously pulled it off and then some.
It’s no secret that I think Dolly is the queen of everything, and she proved it once again here… I mean, just an all-time great moment in American history that we were all lucky enough to be alive to witness in real time:
Dolly Parton FULL Thanksgiving Halftime Show#NFL #AmericanFootball pic.twitter.com/hC6v38fa2v
— Crypto.Man (@hoangcrab_) November 24, 2023
I feel like Tony Romo might still be thinking about it too…
Thanksgiving tables across America when Dolly took the stage pic.twitter.com/mC10hsYJ9k
— Smylie Kaufman (@SmylieKaufman10) November 23, 2023
Post Malone’s performance will certainly be extremely personal, though, as he is a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, and his father actually worked for the Cowboys and managed concessions when Post was a kid.
In a recent interview with Athlon Sports, Jones says he’s “extraordinarily excited” for the game, as well as Posty’s performance, and he shared a really neat story about Post as a child, when his dad was still working for the Cowboys.
Post’s parents split up when he was young, so when he was with his dad while his mom was at work, he would sleep in a cot at Texas Stadium until his mom could come pick him up when he got off work.
Jones said for four or five years, his dad, Rich, would bring him to work when he had late nights and let him go to bed so he could get enough sleep. He said there was about a four or five year stretch that he would sleep there every night:
“You know his background. He used to come over every night and sleep in Texas Stadium. And he slept over there for years, because his mother was working. And then she would finish her work and then he’d go home.
Oh, yeah, for several years. Probably four or five (years). Had a cot for him and he slept.”
It’s no wonder he’s such a big fan of the Cowboys now… I’m sure it will be an incredibly special and full-circle moment for his entire family:
While Post Malone is performing in Texas, back in Nashville, his bar Posty’s will be giving out free meals to on-duty, uniformed first responders from Wednesday, November 26, through Friday, November 28, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, which is super cool and a great way to give back during this special holiday season: