Maroon 5 briefly paid tribute to "SpongeBob SquarePants" and its late creator during the halftime show at Super Bowl LIII.
After an online petition garnered over a million signatures for the band to include the iconic song "Sweet Victory" in the performance, Maroon 5 obliged in part, featuring a short clip from the episode in which SpongeBob and crew perform at the Super Bowl.
The clip introduced Travis Scott, who "flew" into the stadium in a fireball to perform his hit "Sicko Mode."
The small nod wasn't enough for many fans, who took to social media to vent their frustrations, particularly since the song "Sweet Victory" wasn't actually played, as requested in the petition.
When they play a clip of Spongebob but don't play Sweet Victory #Spongebob #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/jw7eQgVDm9
— Amanda Bishop (@ominousrumbling) February 4, 2019
less maroon five. more spongebob.
— Cole Giannasca (@imcolegiannasca) February 4, 2019
me when i realized spongebob wasn’t actually gonna sing sweet victory #SuperBowl #HalftimeShow pic.twitter.com/ObZif8oPxb
— kathleen (@kathleen_hanley) February 4, 2019
The petition picked up steam after Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of "SpongeBob SquarePants," died of ALS in November at age 57.
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