The Who to play Super Bowl half time

The Who will perform at the halftime show for Super Bowl XVIV (44) on February 7th in Miami, according to sportsillustrated.cnn.com. The Who has been heavily rumored as the followup act to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band since just after "The Boss's" 2008 blockbuster performance. Despite the Sports Illustrated leak, there's been no official announcement made by either the Who or the NFL, who refused to confirm nor deny the report, saying only, "When we have something to announce, we'll announce it."

Pete Townshend says that although the current touring version of the Who pays homage to the band's '60s, '70s, and early '80s lineups, do not confuse it as a tribute "act": [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "Y'know, there's a temptation to describe what it is that we're doing with the Who as a nostalgia exercise, but actually what it is a virtual reality exercise, really. It's about trying to re-create what was once there, and inasmuch as we don't particularly need to -- it would be nice to have some new material. But you know, inasmuch as we don't need new material to do what we used to do, we can pretty much use the same techniques."

Roger Daltrey says that as unbelievable as it might seem, the Who are still on top of their game: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "Well, the one thing that never ceases to amaze me, and it's really apparent in these last few shows we've done, is how the energy hasn't changed. The stuff I'm listening to now from the live gigs has got, is in some ways, more energy than it had back then, which is extraordinary considering our age. So I suppose it's something that's in-built in the music. And it's got nothing to do with age, it's just the music, and it's kind of gratifying, in a way. That's how I've always felt about it."

Townshend is putting the finishing touches on his new musical called Floss -- key portions of which will become the basis of the Who's upcoming 2010 studio album.

Daltrey was sheduled to performed on Friday and Saturday, November 13th and 14th, at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa / Music Box.