--- title: SpongeBob Made an Appearance at Super Bowl 2019 Halftime Show description: Fans of SpongeBob correctly found a clue that proved Maroon 5 will perform "Sweet Victory" at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. canonical: https://time.com/5516450/spongebob-super-bowl/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-30T18:14:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T01:07:24.000Z og:title: Why You Just Saw SpongeBob in the Super Bowl Halftime Show og:description: It was 'Sweet Victory' for SpongeBob fans og:url: https://time.com/5516450/spongebob-super-bowl/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d4a3797ae721b15/69869f32cd804d011bccc4fb/t100_tv_spongebob_free1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: t100_tv_spongebob_free1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why You Just Saw SpongeBob in the Super Bowl Halftime Show twitter:description: It was 'Sweet Victory' for SpongeBob fans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6d4a3797ae721b15/69869f32cd804d011bccc4fb/t100_tv_spongebob_free1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The SpongeBob SquarePants Super Bowl Halftime Show Tribute Actually Happened. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cbad5c3a-098c-4139-a427-360d49d0c6e2&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. Will Maroon 5 play "Sweet Victory" at the Halftime Show?_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:07 AM UTCPublished: Jan 30, 2019 6:14 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Updated: Dec 13, 2023 1:07 AM UTCPublished: Jan 30, 2019 6:14 PM UTC It happened. We got a “Sweet Victory” Super Bowl. It may have been short-lived, but passionate Spongebob SquarePants fans with a dream just got their wish. Thanks to some hints floating around the internet from [Maroon 5](http://time.com/5501622/maroon-5-travis-scott-super-bowl-53/) and others, SpongeBob SquarePants fans had high hopes that the famous cartoon character would make a [Super Bowl LIII](http://time.com/5514877/winter-storm-super-bowl-atlanta/) cameo during the Maroon 5 halftime show Sunday night. One main pre-show hint was a brief appearance of the Pineapple-Under-the-Sea-dwelling creature in a tweeted video that Maroon 5, the headlining [Super Bowl 2019](http://time.com/5505825/super-bowl-halftime-show-controversy-2019/) halftime performers, shared last month. About 30 seconds in, a cryptic snippet of [SpongeBob](http://time.com/4504716/spongebob-hotel-nickelodeon/) appears. That snippet turned out to be advance confirmation that “Sweet Victory” would be part of the show. > [](https://twitter.com/itsPurplecolorz/status/1092229245294718977) > [](https://twitter.com/maroon5/status/1084532906943406080) ## The SpongeBob fan theories While SpongeBob and Maroon 5 don’t normally have any particular connection, SpongeBob does have a song — “Sweet Victory” — that was performed in a [season two episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9iYm9PEAHg) of the show called “Band Geeks” by the Bikini Bottom Super Band. Longtime fans believed this meant “Sweet Victory” could end up on Maroon 5’s set list, or in some other way SpongeBob would be involved in the Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show. It’s worth noting that many responses to Maroon 5’s video teaser were related to the potential for a SpongeBob song cameo. And the SpongeBob snapshot in the video is the only cartoon that appears: the rest of the footage consisted of clips of the band’s preparations and performances and hints of [Travis Scott and Big Boi](http://time.com/5501622/maroon-5-travis-scott-super-bowl-53/), two rappers who were also featured at the show. ## The receipts A pair of broadcast journalists appeared to have captured some evidence of the titular star getting his shine on during a Maroon 5 rehearsal at the stadium. > [](https://twitter.com/JWilliamsWDEF/status/1090774855853789184) > [](https://twitter.com/SidelineStormer/status/1090755814107856897) ## The episode There’s more to it, too: a [Change.org](https://www.change.org/p/nfl-have-sweet-victory-performed-at-the-super-bowl) petition was [set up ](http://time.com/5499416/spongebob-super-bowl-song-petition/)in January calling for a “Sweet Victory” tribute at the Super Bowl. It’s collected nearly 1.2 million signatures so far. The reason? To honor SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away in November last year. ## The GIF In another bump for the theory, Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s Twitter account even shared a GIF of SpongeBob dancing in his band outfit all the way back in December, adding fuel to fans’ fire about the potential cameo. > [](https://twitter.com/MBStadium/status/1072971820138225666) ## The bet People even bet on it — literally. The odds, according to an [online betting pool,](https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/nfl/the-weirdest-super-bowl-53-prop-spongebob/) were in favor of SpongeBob appearing at the Super Bowl, in particular popping up in an inflatable costume. In another more under-the-radar hint, according to [CNET](https://www.cnet.com/news/fans-beg-maroon-5-to-cover-spongebob-song-at-super-bowl-halftime-show/), Rodger Bumpass, the voice actor behind the character of [Squidward](http://time.com/4810465/how-the-internet-is-getting-nicer/), reportedly posted on Facebook that he was going to be making some kind of Super Bowl introduction for the halftime show. > [](https://twitter.com/NationOfOranges/status/1089290275288014848) SpongeBob fans, at least, were convinced. Turns out, they were right to be. > [](https://twitter.com/shahob%5Fk/status/1084538518670589952) > [](https://twitter.com/steam%5Fattack/status/1084594690509414401) > [](https://twitter.com/Skrullxx/status/1088827988412690433) ## The reaction > [](https://twitter.com/okaymoe/status/1092229187711193089) > [](https://twitter.com/candii%5Fcam/status/1092229215368433664) > [](https://twitter.com/KofieYeboah/status/1092230072994541570) > [](https://twitter.com/JaxBladeFitness/status/1092229211803262977) > [](https://twitter.com/edldoodle/status/1092229203779641345) > [](https://twitter.com/SpongeBob/status/1092246392872099840) Although there was a SpongeBob appearance, for many it was not, ultimately, enough. > [](https://twitter.com/KofieYeboah/status/1092230072994541570) > [](https://twitter.com/ryanstavy4/status/1092248522248863744) > [](https://twitter.com/Big%5FBoy%5FRyan123/status/1092286625478991872) > [](https://twitter.com/The%5FReal%5FAzul/status/1092306526272962560) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5516450/spongebob-super-bowl/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5516450/spongebob-super-bowl/"},"headline":"The SpongeBob SquarePants Super Bowl Halftime Show Tribute Actually Happened. 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