U2 wild about SuperBowl halftime, less taken with American football

NEW YORK (CP) - Rocker Bono of supergroup U2 isn't overly taken with American rules football but he's absolutely thrilled to be part of SuperBowl XXXVI.

U2 will perform at halftime at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday and Bono, visiting New York for the World Economic Forum, said it will be an honour. "We're very excited actually about the Super Bowl," Bono said during a meeting with Prime Minister Jean Chretien late Friday.

"It's a big deal. And as an Irish group, to be let into this most American of occassions, and this year especially . . . ."

The game between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams is expected to generate even more than the usual all- American hype due to the aftershocks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Bono said the band has no allegiances on the field - but does have one major concern.

"We don't get to lose, unless somebody puts the cable in the wrong way," said Bono. "We've got six minutes to build an entire production in the centre of the field. It normally takes a whole day - six minutes!"

The Dublin-born rocker didn't seem overly taken with the game, however.

"In Ireland we play a game called Bailick, which is much tougher," he said, before asking Chretien - a big sports fan - if he's ever seen Gaelic football.

"It's basically the same as American football except without the armour."

And don't call it rugby, Bono added.

"That's an English game," he said, making a sour face.

© The Canadian Press, 2002