POPLAR GROVE, Ill. (WTVO) — Love it or hate it, this year’s Super Bowl halftime show featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez was made possible by hundreds of production crew members, one of them from Poplar Grove.

Randy Alberts has worked on the last three halftime shows, featuring Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5.

He did it again this year.

“It’s pretty incredible, sitting there at the 50 yard line, to watch the show happen,” he said.

Alberts is one man in a team of 500 crew people.

“There’s a lot of people on the field when the halftime show goes down, so everything is choreographed,” he said.

Alberts had to push carts which weigh up to 3,000 pounds and set up a stage in just six minutes.

“We call it the 24 minute miracle, because we have six minutes to assemble a stage, ready for production. Then, there’s an 18 to 20 minute show,” he said.

Shakira and JLo’s latest performance is Alberts’ third, but he says the reason he does the job each year has nothing to do with the famous artists he gets to work with.

“Pretty much the friendships that we’ve made from other Super Bowls. We have a Facebook group where all the alumni basically talk to each other. It’s kind of like a big family reunion every year,” he said.

Over the last week, Alberts has been preparing non-stop for the show, a lot of work for a performance which lasts less than 20 minutes.

“You wish you could do it every week,” he said. “It’s definitely an adrenaline rush, once you get your cart out there.”

Alberts says he has no plans on slowing down: he expects to help set up next year’s show in Tampa.

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