The first Super Bowl after the 9/11 attacks was a time when buildings were still burning and America was changing. In 2002, U2 performed the halftime show. With the shock of what had happened in New York still painfully raw, this was a performance that mattered.
As one commenter said:
"Only Bruce Springsteen could?ve handled running the halftime celebration post-9/11 with as much diplomacy and success. But Springsteen?s music is best when it?s joyful, whereas U2?s works best when it?s tapping into the serenity of the soul. In this context, with the names of the fallen scrolling on a screen behind them, Bono and Co. made ?Beautiful Day? sound like a promise to be kept. I say this as a complete non-fan who doesn?t care much for their solemnity, but here it was necessary."