Feb 4, 2019 Content Success
SpongeBob SquarePants Gives a Boost to the Super Bowl
And thousands continue to sign the petition for ‘Sweet Victory’ long after after the big game ends.
After millions signed a Change.org petition calling for the SpongeBob song "Sweet Victory" to play during the halftime show, Bikini Bottom fans got their wish: SpongeBob and Squidward made a quick and remarkable appearance to introduce Travis Scott's Sicko Mode.
The appearance sparked millions to stream the track that's originally from the "Band Geeks" episode, with Billboard reporting that streams of "Sweet Victory" jumped 566% the day after the cartoon's big game cameo (far outpacing other halftime performers).
For some, however, it wasn't enough. Since Sunday night’s brief cameo by the Nickelodeon favorite aired, thousands of fans have signed the petition, perhaps out of disappointment since Sweet Victory wasn't played in full.
“SpongeBob fans wanted SpongeBob, not Travis Scott,” read one headline. While another stated: “SpongeBob SquarePants fans furious at brief cameo during Super Bowl halftime show.” Complex reported that fans weren't happy by the "bait-and-switch."
"What they got instead was a lot of fire, a ton of Adam Levine and about 10 seconds of Bikini Bottom," the article read.
The support around Sweet Victory — made famous in the episode Band Geeks from 2001 — being performed during the SuperBowl has been floated around for years, but gained steam this year after SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg died in November from ALS.
“Def would have appreciated more SpongeBob, but maybe we’re biased?” Nickelodeon Animation tweeted after the appearance.
As of Monday morning, there were more than 1.2 million signatures on the petition.