'Sweet Victory': Super Bowl Halftime Show Gives Tribute To 'Spongebob'
ATLANTA (CBSDFW.COM) - Yup, that happened.
Fans were given a short but sweet surprise featuring "Spongebob Squarepants" during the Super Bowl LIII halftime show Sunday evening. Scenes from a popular episode of the long-running cartoon were shown during the performance.
The song "Sweet Victory" was part of the episode "Band Geeks" from the hit Nickelodeon cartoon. The episode premiered on Sept. 7, 2001 and was part of the show's second season.
In the episode, Spongebob and his friends performed the song in front of a real-life crowd while wearing red band uniforms. The song was actually performed by musician David Glen Eisley but dubbed over Spongebob's voice during the episode.
A petition circulated online through change.org for the NFL to feature the song in the latest Super Bowl halftime show to honor the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away in Nov. 2018 at the age of 57.
Rumors had circulated ahead of the Super Bowl about Maroon 5 incorporating "Spongebob" into their halftime performance. And the rumors proved true.
However, fans voiced their displeasure throughout social media as they expected the song to be performed rather than just video.
As for the overall halftime show, viewers weren't too thrilled by Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi.
"Worst halftime show ever," said Bobby Young on the CBSDFW Facebook page.
"Spongebob couldn't save this show," Nanette Walton Day added.
Others had a different opinion on the halftime show.
"After Adam took his shirt off, it got better," said Rebecca Tidwell.
"My 70 year old mom liked him taking his shirt off," Gerald Williams added.
The New England Patriots went into halftime with a 3-0 lead against the Los Angeles Rams in a low-scoring game.
