News

Fans of SpongeBob SquarePants aren’t looking back in their months-long effort to have “Sweet Victory” sung during half time at the Super Bowl as an ode to Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the fantastical world Bikini Bottoms, who died Nov. 27.

More than 1 million people have signed the Change.org petition to honor the 57-year-old Humboldt State University graduate, who announced last March that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

“As some of you may or may not know, Stephen Hillenburg — the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants — has passed away recently,” the petition reads. “As a tribute to his legacy, his contributions to a generation of children and to truly showcase the greatness of this song, we call for Sweet Victory to be performed at the Halftime Show.”


Half time headliner Maroon 5 set the Twittersphere a twitter earlier this month when the band released a Super Bowl teaser that includes a brief appearance by SpongeBob. (Check out the 32 second mark.)

#SBLIII pic.twitter.com/dWKJQDS9ap

— Maroon 5 (@maroon5) January 13, 2019

The animated undersea world Hillenburg invented is said to have roots in the artist’s time at HSU, which he credited for developing his love of marine biology and art.

He and his wife recently gave a $135,000 gift to create the Stephen Hillenburg Marine Science Research Award Endowment at the college “to provide grant awards for student research projects in marine biology, oceanography and marine fisheries,” according to a September release from HSU.

And many local mainstays, including Stars Hamburgers (aka the Krusty Krab), are said to be inspirations for the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon.

The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots square off Feb. 3 in Atlanta, Georgia, when SpongeBob fans will find out if their daydream of a “Sweet Victory” comes true against all odds.

Read the text of the Change.org petition below:

Problem
As some of you may or may not know, Stephen Hillenburg—the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants—has passed away recently. As a tribute to his legacy, his contributions to a generation of children, and to truly showcase the greatness of this song, we call for Sweet Victory to be performed at the Halftime Show.

Solution
Perform Sweet Victory at the Halftime Show

Lyrics of "Sweet Victory":

The winner takes all
It's the thrill of one more kill
The last one to fall
Will never sacrifice their will

Don't ever look back
On the wind closing in
The only attack
Were their wings on the wind
Oh the daydream begins

And it's sweet, sweet, sweet victory, yeah!
And it's ours for the taking
It's ours for the fight
In the sweet, sweet, sweet victory, yeah!
And the world is last to fall

The winner takes all

You don't win no shoot-out
You only lose the gold
You push with a fever
Oh, your time keeps going on

Against all the odds
Against all your pain
Your backs on the wall
With no one to blame
Wild hearts won't get tamed