Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith Auctions Super Bowl Drums for Charity
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith is selling off a piece of Super Bowl history for a good cause. On NFL.com, Smith is auctioning the drum kit (available in two separate pieces) and three sets of sticks that he used to batter out “Give It Away” with his bandmates and Bruno Mars during the latter’s halftime show for Make-a-Wish America.
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The kit is a custom-made “limited-edition” clear Plexiglas Pearl set that has been broken in two, so one kit represents the AFC and the other, the NFC, complete with conference team logos. Each kit includes limited-edition Sabian cymbals. Proceeds from both kits will benefit Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. At the time of this post, the kits were going for between $10,000 and $13,000 each, and the sticks ranged in price from $295 to $610. Bidding ends Friday at 10 p.m. EST.
More than 112 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl on Sunday, according to USA Today, making it the most watched telecast in TV history. Nielsen estimated that 115.3 million people tuned in to watch Bruno Mars with the Chili Peppers, according to The Associated Press. That number makes it the most-watched halftime performance ever, besting Madonna‘s 2012 performance.
In other Bowl news, USA Today reports that Animal Planet’s 10th annual Puppy Bowl, which has its own (cute) history, drew in 3.3 million viewers – a 24 percent increase compared to last year. Other bestial bowls, Hallmark’s Kitten Bowl and Nat Geo’s Fish Bowl, drew in 1 million and 27,000 viewers, respectively.