Claire Neiberg | Staff Writer
02/07/19
While the New England Patriots had their sweet victory, the SpongeBob SquarePants fans in the stadium did not. The Super Bowl 2019 halftime show brought disappointment to fans, as it was not the show-stopping performance anticipated.
With Maroon 5 headlining, along with Travis Scott and Big Boi as supporting performers, the show was advertised to be quite entertaining. Maroon 5 is one of the world’s best-selling artists, and Scott’s “Sicko Mode” climbed the charts to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Maroon 5 performed a medley of “Harder to Breathe,” “This Love,” “Girls Like You,” “She Will Be Loved,” “Sugar” and “Moves Like Jagger.” Scott came in with his iconic “Sicko Mode” with Big Boi performing “Kryptonite (I’m on It)” and “The Way You Move.”
Adam Levine was off-pitch in some of the songs, but overall, he and his band delivered a great performance of their most successful, fan-favorite songs.
Scott’s “Sicko Mode” was a disappointment to the SpongeBob fans in the crowd, as there was an anticipation that “Sweet Victory” from the episode “Band Geeks” would be performed instead to honor Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob, who had just passed away in November.
After an online petition with over one million signatures and teasers from the NFL, fans had high hopes for “Sweet Victory.” Before “Sicko Mode,” a clip from the episode of Spongebob even played, leaving the fans in even more suspense.
While SpongeBob is often considered a silly children’s show, it has been one of the most successful and longest-running television shows Nickelodeon has produced. It has also reached outside of the TV, as the Broadway musical of the same name had great success at the most recent Tony Awards.
Paying tribute to Hillenburg would be paying tribute to the creativity and joy SpongeBob has brought to the world. It is a classic comedy and has collected millions of fans over the years.
It was a dismay to play a teaser for a song that meant a lot to many fans, and after such a great letdown, it was difficult to enjoy the rest of the show.
In addition, the show lacked creativity, but this was due to many performers’ refusal to take part in response to the NFL’s treatment to Colin Kaepernick and his protest of police brutality.
The performers who agreed to perform even received backlash, however, both Scott and Maroon 5 donated to Dream Corps and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to show their support of social justice.
If the NFL had been more supportive of Kaepernick and his decision to exercise his freedom of speech and more cautious to what the fans wanted, then the Super Bowl 2019 halftime show may have been more of a success. While the performers were all successful in their own right and delivered an entertaining performance, more could have been done to elevate the show as a whole.
