‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Fans Petition To Have ‘Sweet Victory’ Sung At Super Bowl Halftime After Creator Dies
Fans of SpongeBob SquarePants are petitioning the National Football League (NFL) to perform “Sweet Victory,” a song from an early season of the show, at the Super Bowl, in honor of creator Stephen Hillenburg’s death, Fox News is reporting.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, last week SpongeBob SquarePants creator Hillenburg died last week at the age of 57, following a battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. And now it seems that fans of the show, which has been airing on Nickelodeon for nearly two decades, would like to see the character, and its creator, honored at the Super Bowl with a song from the show.
“As a tribute to [Hillenburg’s] 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.”
What Is This “Sweet Victory” Business All About?
Way back in 2001, in the early days of the show, the episode “Band Geeks” featured the parody song. During the episode, SpongeBob and his friends form a band, and through a series of wacky shenanigans, they get to perform at an important sporting event. And while the audience is led to believe that it’s going to be a typical band performance, such as you’d see at a college football game, the denizens of Bikini Bottom instead perform a rock and roll power ballad.
The song is a parody of every cheesy, motivational power ballad from every ’80s sports movie ever. Take a listen.
That’s studio musician David Glen Eisley doing the vocals, channeling Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger,” “Burning Heart,”) singer Dave Bickler’s earnest vocals and fist-pumping lyrics. And while the song was intended as a parody, you can almost imagine hearing it in the soundtrack to a Rocky movie as the hero’s training montage rolls on the screen.
Spongebob Squarepants – Crying Johnny https://t.co/cu1RvR32T5 pic.twitter.com/J3Hiq2CtAc
— liza (@liza41975567) December 1, 2018
So Where Can I Add My Name To This Petition?
Over on Change.org, the clearinghouse for most online petitions, 181,000 signers have added their names to the list of those who would like to see the NFL perform the song.
Is The NFL Going To Do It?
Almost certainly not. For one thing, online petitions are, by and large, not worth the paper they’re printed on. For another thing, every last fraction of a second of the non-game entertainment at the Super Bowl has already been planned, and making room for a three-minute parody song from 20 years ago is almost certainly too big of an undertaking. And last but not least, the NFL has been accused of taking itself too seriously; performing a song that is at once a joke and a dig at the excesses of sports is almost certainly not in the cards.
But of course, this writer could be wrong, and the NFL may just take notice of the petition and move things around. But don’t count on it.
