With the sad passing of SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, fans are rallying to find ways to honor his creation. A petition, started by Isreal Colunga, calls for the song “Sweet Victory” to be played during halftime. The song comes from Season Two of the show in an episode titled Band Geeks. In this episode, SpongeBob and his friends form a band and play the song at the Bubble Bowl, which is Bikini Bottom’s version of the NFL championship game. Colunga states:
“As a tribute to his legacy, his contributions to a generation of children, and to truly showcase the greatness of this song, we call for Sweet Victory to be performed at the Halftime Show.”
SpongeBob SquarePants is a phenomenally popular cartoon with its twelfth season schedule to air in 2019. The creator of the show passed away from ALS complications earlier this week at the age of 57. Nickelodeon released a statement upon his death:
“He was beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued SpongeBob SquarePants with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as reminder of the value of optimism, friendship, and the limitless power of imagination.”
Within three days the petition rose from 30,000 signatures to near half a million. It is a touching gesture by fans to show an outpouring of love for what Hillenburg left behind. The Super Bowl is set to be played Sunday, February 3rd, 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA at 6:30 PM Eastern time. Rumors have gone about that Maroon 5 will headline the halftime show, but the NFL has not confirmed these reports. Hopefully, a confirmation will come that “Sweet Victory” will be included in this performance.