Last week, heartbreaking news that the creator of Spongebob Squarepants, Stephen Hillenberg, had passed away left the world with an empty void, but now fans have banded together to think of a fantastic way to memorialize the man who brought lots of joy to our childhoods.
A petition is currently going around, with the sole purpose of getting the song Sweet Victory performed at the 2019 Super Bowl half-time show. If you’re a bit rusty on your Bikini Bottom knowledge, then Sweet Victory is the song performed by Spongebob and the gang in the fifteenth episode of the second season of the long-running show.
They perform the song in a bid to help Squidward ‘stick it’ to one of his former high school classmates, and Spongebob manages to pull the band together and the crowd go wild for their musical show at the Bubble Bowl.
Over 500,000 fans have signed the petition at the time of writing this article, with the goal being 1million, and it truly be a touching tribute following the news of Hillenberg’s passing. You can sign the petition here.
Isreal Colunga, the creator of the petition has said: “As some of you may or may not know, Stephen Hillenburg—the creator of Spongebob Sqaurepants—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.”
A statement from Nickelodeon confirmed the cartoonist’s death last week.
Posting on Twitter, the network wrote: “We are sad to share the news of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants.
“Today, we are observing a moment of silence to honour his life and work.”
💛 We are sad to share the news of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants. Today, we are observing a moment of silence to honor his life and work. 💛
— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) November 27, 2018
Stephen Hillenberg was the mastermind behind the television show Spongebob Squarepants which is now entering its 12th season.