Cody Nelson
Maroon 5 might be the biggest musical act in the world that nobody really likes (aside from maybe Coldplay). But the band has a chance to redeem itself Sunday during the Super Bowl halftime show.
More than 1 million people are calling on the band to use one of music’s biggest stages to do some good: Perform SpongeBob SquarePants’ “Sweet Victory” in honor of the cartoon’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, who died in November.
The “Sweet Victory” song comes from an all-time great SpongeBob episode, “Band Geeks,” in which SpongeBob and Co. perform inside a giant aquarium at the Bubble Bowl — the show’s version of a Super Bowl.
Let’s take a look at the legendary scene:
Sure, the 1 million-plus petition is just a Change.org campaign. But, as CBS Sports notes, there’s reason to believe the band (can you call Maroon 5 a “band?”) might actually play the song:
• Rodger Bumpass, who voices Squidward Tentacles on SpongeBob, is reportedly introducing the Super Bowl halftime show.
• Maroon 5 shared a commercial for their set and it included a flash of a SpongeBob scene:
#SBLIII pic.twitter.com/dWKJQDS9ap
— Maroon 5 (@maroon5) January 13, 2019
• The site of the Super Bowl shared this GIF from the “Band Geeks” episode soon after Hillenburg’s death:
— MercedesBenzStadium (@MBStadium) December 12, 2018
• Vegas bookies say the odds favor Maroon 5 performing the song, CBS Sports reports.
Maroon 5 already stirred enough controversy for taking the gig.
At least play the SpongeBob song, guys.
