While most tune into the annual Super Bowl to see if their favorite team will come out on top with a ring, some only watch for either the commercials or the infamous Pepsi Halftime Show. While performances have been more than stellar in the past, this year’s show has caused social media to irrupt in dismay.
Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the infamous Spongebob Squarepants, passed away in November of 2018 due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Fans of the long-running animated Nickelodeon show rushed to support and make a tribute to Hillenburg after his death. The result of this created an online petition to have the NFL play the song “Sweet Victory” from the 2001 episode of “Spongebob” titled “Band Geeks” in honor of Hillenburg. The petition amassed over one million signatures from fans of the show.
On the day of the Super Bowl, the NFL tweeted a video showing off different popular football players with the song playing in the background, causing fans to grow with excitement. The idea of the song being performed by the famous band Maroon 5 during the Super Bowl was not only exciting for fans and supporters of Hillenburg, but also exciting for the community of fans that follow everything when it comes to animated television. The moment had finally come and a clip of the episode “Band Geeks” was played. Fans thought that this was the moment they had waited and petitioned for, however, it turns out it was only a 30-second clip to introduce Travis Scott who then went on to perform his song “Sicko Mode.” Fans were so disappointed, instead of a heartwarming tribute to Hillenburg, they were forced to sit through an overplayed rap song accompanied by Adam Levine, giving viewers dance moves that were embarrassing, to say the least.
Yet, it was not only the lack of “Sweet Victory” that made social media upset about the disappointing Super Bowl LIII halftime show. Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5, removed his shirt during his performance. Viewers instantly called out the NFL for allowing him to do so when back in 2004’s Super Bowl halftime, Janet Jackson’s shirt was ripped by Justin Timberlake, exposing her chest. Back then, CBS issued an apology for the incident but also received a fine from the Federal Communications Commission for $550,000. Twitter was full of fans declaring how it is outrageous that Levine got away with his act, but not Jackson. “#JanetJacksonAppreciationDay” trended on Twitter the same day as the Super Bowl, and fans did not let the NFL, CBS, or the FCC get away so easily by tagging them and mentioning them in Tweets. There has been no official statement from any of the three corporations on the incident.
While the Super Bowl has always been a massive spectacle, this year was honestly a massive disappointment. The commercials were lackluster. The game itself was boring to say the least. Most of all, the halftime show was incredibly disappointing and misleading. There’s always hope that the next Super Bowl will be more than enough to make up for this year’s super drag.
by Davis Hicks
