Following the death of SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, there was a petition started with the goal of having the SpongeBob song “Sweet Victory,” from the famous “Band Geeks” episode, performed during halftime of the Super Bowl. The petition reached well over a million signatures, and in a twist of fate that proves how powerful the internet can be, SpongeBob actually made a guest appearance during Maroon 5’s halftime performance today: Squidward introduced Travis Scott, backed by the horn section from the “Sweet Victory” intro.
Spongebob X Sicko Mode at the #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/5vr6GPIsCX
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) February 4, 2019
There were multiple indications that this would happen. In mid-January, Maroon 5 posted a video teasing their halftime performance, and fans noticed that it contained a brief clip of the titular sponge. Around that same time, the Twitter account for Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is hosting this year’s game, tweeted a SpongeBob GIF.
SpongeBob voice actor Richard Bumpass, who voices Squidward, also wrote in a Facebook post, “To all SpongeBob fans!!! Tune into the Super Bowl because Squidward gets to introduce the halftime entertainment!!!!” More recently, reporters caught glimpses of Maroon 5’s Super Bowl rehearsals a few days ago and saw an image of SpongeBob from the “Band Geeks” episode on a giant screen.
Watch the SpongeBob Super Bowl halftime show appearance above, and revisit the original “Sweet Victory” clip from the “Band Geeks” episode below.
