On Monday, marine biologist-turned-SpongeBob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenburg died at 57. Hillenburg’s iconic cartoon about a porous yellow rectangle brought some light and optimism to our dark world, and even taught at least one kid how to do the Heimlich maneuver. So in honor of his passing, one brilliant fan hatched a plan to celebrate Hillenburg in the best way he knew how: by getting the song from that episode where Spongebob plays a halftime show into the actual 2019 Super Bowl.
The fan, Isreal Colunga, hopped on Change.org and launched a petition calling for “Sweet Victory” to be featured in the upcoming halftime show “as a tribute to [Hillenburg’s] legacy, his contributions to a generation of children, and to truly showcase the greatness of this song.” Apparently, the world agreed—the petition has already pulled in more than 50,000 signatures since it launched on Tuesday, and it’s still climbing.
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For those pitiful few who don’t know the entire SpongeBob oeuvre by heart, the song comes from an episode called “Band Geeks,” in which SpongeBob and the gang venture up onto dry land to perform during halftime at the Bubble Bowl.
“Sweet Victory” is a truly ripping 80s power ballad, like something Foreigner might’ve written in their heyday if they woke up one morning magically transformed into cartoon sea creatures, and by God, it is exactly the thing the Super Bowl halftime show needs.
“It’s a hugely inspirational song that I listen to when working out and boosting confidence, but besides that I want it played at the Super Bowl to honor the man who gave us one of the greatest and most quotable cartoons of all time,” a petition supporter named Jonathan Hersey said. “I need it,” another wrote simply.
The version of “Sweet Victory” that aired in SpongeBob was performed by a guy named David Glen Eisley. Unfortunately, Eisley probably won’t be playing the halftime show no matter how many signatures this petition gets, since Maroon 5 is already set to perform.
But given that halftime shows historically just feature bands playing medleys of their most popular songs, along with the fact that Maroon 5 has never written anything that reaches the epic heights of “Sweet Victory” over the course of the band’s entire career, maybe the petition will inspire Adam Levine to belt out a few lines of the song in Hillenburg’s honor. At least 50,000 people out there know it’s the right thing to do.
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