SpongeBob Fans Reimagine Maroon 5 Super Bowl Halftime Show With ‘Sweet Victory’ Tribute

A fan-made video has gone viral on Twitter, showing how the Super Bowl LIII half time show might have looked if the performers had given SpongeBob SquarePants fans a rendition of “Sweet Victory.”

Leading up to the Super Bowl, there was a lot of talk about the half time performance. Many fans hoped to see a version of the “Sweet Victory” football scene from SpongeBob SquarePants, in honor of series creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away last year. The organizers conceded to this request in a way, playing a short, slightly altered clip from the episode after Maroon 5’s first song, but fans wanted more.

One group of fans in particular took matters into their own hands. An online creator known as Yeek Studios edited footage from the halftime show to match up with the classic episode, and the results were pretty incredible.

The video cast Adam Levine in the role of Spongebob, making it look like he was singing the gravely stadium rock ballad himself. Meanwhile, the drums were meticulously matched to the song, and the fireworks and pyrotechnics were even matched to the beat. At the end, it returned to the original SpongeBob SquarePants footage, showing Squilliam FancySon fainting in shock, and Squidward jumping for joy.

The video circulated on Twitter as well, where fans went wild for the edit. Many responded with their favorite SpongeBob GIFs, assuring Yeek Studios that this was far better than the actual show had been.

“This minute long tweet was better than the entire 4 hour long Super Bowl,” one fan attested.

Elsewhere, many fans dragged the organizers’ attempt to include a nod to “Sweet Victory” without actually playing it. The outrage developed into a whole set of memes, with fans feeling they had been fooled when the trumpets led into Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.”

During the game, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Twitter account did post a video of “Sweet Victory” playing in its entirety on the venue’s giant screens. The clip was taken during daylight, when the stadium was empty, and still left many fans feeling cheated, as they said in the replies.

The calls for a SpongeBob-themed halftime show started with a Change.org petition months ago. Fans reasoned that it was a perfect occasion to commemorate Hillenburg, who passed away after a prolonged battle with ALS.

On top of that, it was an elegant solution to the NFL’s struggle to find a performer. Many prominent artists, including Cardi B, Rihanna, Pink and Jay-Z reportedly turned down the half time show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and his protests.