On Sunday, February 3th, Super Bowl LIII was held in Atlanta, Georgia. For the legendary half-time show,  Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi were the performers. The performance received mixed reactions from viewers and the press. However, what upset many viewers (myself included) was the very brief mention of the Spongebob Squarepants song, Sweet Victory.

  This previous November, Spongebob Squarepants creator, Stephen Hillenburg, died of Lou Gehrig’s disease. A petition that went viral on the internet called for Sweet Victory to be performed at the halftime show.

  The petition stated, “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… ” The petition got a little over a million signatures from fans from all across the world in support of tribute to Hillenburg.

  When the time came to determine if the song would be performed, fans were greeted with the introduction of the song, but their promise wasn’t fulfilled. Only a brief cameo of the characters were featured on the show and it quickly shifted to introduce Travis Scott and Big Boi to the stage.

  Hillenburg’s contributions to the world of animation and to thousands, possibly millions of children who viewed his creation, goes without saying, and to see his life’s accomplishments be paid tribute to in the way it was is a disgrace to his name and the show he created. His impact was far and wide, and it deserved to be paid its respect properly.

  To add salt to the wound, the show itself lied to us as viewers. It basically said, “Sure we’re going to include Spongebob in the show,” while hiding the fact it would only show “Sweet Victory” as a brief ten second cameo.

  Fortunately, we as viewers are able to express our feelings about how we feel about this betrayal and injustice through varied platforms on the internet. And on February 4, the people’s wishes were fulfilled by the NHL at the Dallas Stars Game. At halftime, the song was played and the footage from the Spongebob episode was shown on the megascreen. This thankfully payed proper tribute to Hillenburg, as it properly showed his creation in all its glory.