Okay, so today I wanted to dive into something that’s been bugging me for a while – the Maroon 5 halftime show and how it totally messed with Stephen Hillenburg’s legacy.
First, I re-watched the halftime show. I mean, I saw it when it first aired, but I wanted to refresh my memory. And yeah, it was just as bad as I remembered. It was like a fever dream, but not in a good way.
The “Sweet Victory” Tease
Then, I went on a deep dive into the whole “Sweet Victory” petition. You know, the one where fans were begging for them to play it as a tribute to Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob, who had recently passed away? I found the original Change petition and read through some of the comments. People were genuinely heartbroken and wanted a proper tribute.
- Found the petition.
- Read the comments.
- Felt the feels.
So, Maroon 5 teased “Sweet Victory.” They showed a tiny clip of SpongeBob, and everyone, including me, lost their minds. We thought, “Okay, this is it! They’re actually going to do it!”
The Letdown
But nope. Instead, we got…Travis Scott and “Sicko Mode.” Don’t get me wrong, “Sicko Mode” is a banger, but it was so out of place. It was like they dangled this beautiful, nostalgic tribute in front of us and then snatched it away.
I then spent some time reading articles and forum posts about the backlash. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one feeling some type of way. People were pissed. They felt disrespected, and honestly, I agreed.
Finally, I tried to look for any official statements from Maroon 5 or the NFL about the whole thing. Mostly what I found was just…silence. It’s like they hoped everyone would just forget about it. But it felt wrong to, It felt like they are trying to brush a bad disicion under the rug.
And that’s my little journey into the halftime show drama. It confirmed my initial feelings: it was a disrespectful mess that did a disservice to Stephen Hillenburg and SpongeBob fans everywhere.