Kendrick Lamar had the honor of putting on the inaugural halftime performance during the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night in Atlanta, but the president reportedly didn't stick around to see it.
Well, considering the performance was held just outside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and not on the field, it was more of a nearby concert than a halftime show for the showdown between Georgia and Alabama. That seemed to catch plenty of people off-guard, as the musical performances at these big-time sporting events typically reward the people who actually paid for tickets to get in the building.
Either way, it was a big get for college football. After a relatively slow first half of action between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, plenty of people were looking forward to the show by one of music's biggest stars.
Yup. #NationalChampionship #RollTide #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/gYqoaNoYza
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 9, 2018
As is usually the case with any halftime show, Kendrick received some mixed reviews from those who cut their teeth in the world of sports. Plenty of people seemed to enjoy the show.
Can we just have Kendrick Lamar do the Super Bowl halftime show too?
— Faux John Madden (@FauxJohnMadden) January 9, 2018
This is like the Thanksgiving halftime show at Lions games, except good
— Nick Kostos (@TheKostos) January 9, 2018
Alabama fans trying to ignore the scoreboard and enjoy Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/aWJNss0l9b
— What the Sports (@realwtsports) January 9, 2018
Give Kendrick Lamar the #NationalChampionship trophy now and call off the second half
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) January 9, 2018
Others...not so much.
Kendrick Lamar is a joke compared to J. Cole.
— Jeff Goodman 🅥 (@espn_jeff) January 9, 2018
Every parent watching Kendrick Lamar right now... pic.twitter.com/ehUbvKbTVt
— Chase Padgett (@TheChasePadgett) January 9, 2018
Very rarely 100% sure of anything.
— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) January 9, 2018
But I’m 100% sure I am not the target demographic of this halftime show.
Just like Alabama, Kendrick Lamar can’t be offensive on TV.
— John Archibald (@JohnArchibald) January 9, 2018
Thoroughly enjoying all the old, white Republicans on my Facebook feed discover Kendrick Lamar for the first time.
— Tyler Jones (@TylerMJones) January 9, 2018
Those inside the stadium didn't get to enjoy too much of the performance.
Mercedes Benz playing Kendrick on delay on jumbotron here
— Morgan Moriarty (@Morgan_Moriarty) January 9, 2018
aaand they showed like 5 mins of Kenrdick's set lol
— Morgan Moriarty (@Morgan_Moriarty) January 9, 2018
Some people called out Lamar for lip-syncing.
Kendrick Lamar's new rap verse....."my lip sync just went viral" 😂🎤🎙️
— Kristie Cortes (@KristieC75) January 9, 2018
Kendrick Lamar lip sync’d like a college girl at a Paul McCartney concert.
— BroDiggity (@YouGuysDoIt) January 9, 2018
When people say that Kendrick Lamar was lip syncing pic.twitter.com/DfgfvrXdO4
— Barries (@ChrisBarries) January 9, 2018
And some people just didn't bother sticking around for any of it.
Clearly, Trump chose this game so he could see Kendrick Lamar.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) January 9, 2018
President Trump has just departed Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium. He left before Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) January 9, 2018