There have been a lot of great moments in Super Bowl history. There was that time when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake did a halftime show together, and Timberlake tore off Jackson’s breastplate, sort-of-exposing Miss Jackson to a billion TV viewers. There was that time Prince played the halftime show and everyone watching had a spiritual experience during “Purple Rain.” Oh, and Lady Gaga’s halftime show last year was pretty spectacular. Don’t even get us started on all those great commercials, like the “1984” Macintosh ad, or the “Whazzzzzzup” guys. Apparently there’s also some kind of important football game that’s played before and after the halftime show and in between commercials. Gisele Bündchen’s husband or brother or something is one of the guys who plays in it a lot.
But perhaps the most famous and delightful Super Bowl moment in recent memory concerns the splendid adventures of the man who captured hearts as “Left Shark.” Katy Perry was ostensibly the star of the halftime show at the 2015 Super Bowl, but her catchy tunes and Hot Dog on a Stick-inspired costume were completely overshadowed by the guy in a shark costume on the left. (Hence “Left Shark.”) While Right Shark danced in time with the music, Left Shark…just plain didn’t. Left Shark quickly became a viral sensation, but unlike most viral sensations grasping their big moment, the guy in the suit refused to speak to the media. Until now: Left Shark spoke with NPR’s David Greene.
Left Shark is really a guy named Bryan Gaw, and he danced with Katy Perry on her various tours for five years, up until he quit last year and took a job as a hair stylist in West Hollywood. The big takeaway from the interview: Left Shark’s incompetence wasn’t incompetence, or a mistake from Gaw on the world’s biggest stage. Nope: It was all planned.