“Can you make it rain harder?”: the legendary story behind the only wet Super Bowl
There has been only one rainy Super Bowl in NFL history, and Prince’s halftime performance in the downpour made it unforgettable.
The Super Bowl halftime shows have become one of the biggest spectacles on television in America since Michael Jackson first debuted in 1993. Since then, there have been performers of all genres and backgrounds taking the stage, with some more memorable than others.
But of all the Super Bowls and all the halftime shows over the years, there has been only one rainy Super Bowl in NFL history. And it was Prince who took the stage that rainy day in 2007, to deliver one of the most iconic performances of all time, and along with it, one infamous quote.
The night the Super Bowl got soaked
Super Bowl XLI, played on February 4, 2007 in Miami, remains the only championship game ever played in steady rain. It was a bizarre, slippery outlier in the Super Bowl, which usually treats weather as a controllable variable. But what turned that soggy night into pure legend wasn’t the downpour itself. It was what Prince said right before he walked into it.
When producers warned him that rain was expected and asked if he wanted any changes or accommodations, Prince reportedly smiled and replied:
“Can you make it rain harder?”
In 40 years, it had never rained during the Super Bowl. On the day of 41st the heavens opened up and poured down hard.
— O’Shea Jackson Jr (@OsheaJacksonJr) January 28, 2026
Because everything on the stage were live instruments and the stage floor was slick with water for he and his dancers, they asked Prince what did he want to do… https://t.co/5o1cjiTvar pic.twitter.com/TMH7glgdcW
The NFL typically goes to extreme lengths to avoid weather issues on Super Bowl Sunday, favoring domes or warm-weather cities whenever possible. That’s why what happened in Miami felt so surreal.
A steady rain fell throughout Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, turning the field slick, the ball unpredictable, and the game unusually messy. Kickoffs were mishandled, players slipped, and coaches were forced to adjust on the fly. It remains the only Super Bowl ever played in rain, and the league hasn’t come close to repeating it since.
But the rain reached its cinematic peak during halftime. Prince’s halftime performance is widely considered one of the greatest in Super Bowl history, and the weather is a huge reason why.
As rain poured down, Prince tore through hits like “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Baby I’m a Star,” and “Purple Rain,” with water cascading off his guitar, soaking his clothes, and turning the stage into something closer to a dream sequence than a football intermission. The image of Prince silhouetted against purple light, shredding as rain fell around him, has become one of the most iconic visuals the Super Bowl has ever produced.
What could have been a disaster instead became an unforgettable piece of live television, because Prince didn’t chose to embrace the rain instead of fight it. In the nearly two decades since Super Bowl XLI, the NFL has made sure it never has to deal with that situation again.
The league learned its lesson. Rain introduces too much chaos, from player safety to broadcast logistics, for an event which is built on precision and control. The NFL may never let it rain again on Super Bowl Sunday. But once, just once, it did. And Prince made sure it poured.
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