On Feb. 3 families and friends across the nation gathered in front of the TV for Super Bowl LIII; unfortunately, on top of the slow, low-scoring game and the lackluster commercials, the halftime show killed the spirited atmosphere and received vast criticism from viewers.

This year’s performance featured the band Maroon 5 along with rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi. Although this year’s show fell way behind former legendary Super Bowl acts including Lady Gaga (2017), Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, and Missy Elliott (2015), Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers (2014), and Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child (2013), it wasn’t the contents of the performance that deeply upset the fans.

The creator of the beloved cartoon Spongebob SquarePants Stephen Hillenburg passed away from Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) on Nov. 28, 2018. In hopes to pay homage to Hillenburg, fans across the world put together a petition to have “Sweet Victory,” the iconic Spongebob song, played at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2019. The petition went viral and received over a million signatures in under a month. As a result, Nickelodeon, the NFL, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium began to tease fans of a possible feature on Twitter.

Fast forward three months and millions of viewers tuned into Super Bowl LIII in hopes of seeing “Sweet Victory” from SpongeBob SquarePants performed during the halftime show. Fans were utterly devastated when the NFL showed a short five-second clip of the song, only to point the cameras to Travis Scott, who appeared to fly into the stadium on a meteor.

Fans quickly took to Twitter and other social media platforms to voice their frustrations and disappointments. On YouTube, this year’s halftime show released by the NFL currently has 99,000 likes and a whopping 700,000 dislikes. To add fuel to the fire, the NFL is now being accused of deleting dislikes on the 2019 halftime performance YouTube video.

Super Bowl was handed the ultimate way to connect with the younger generation and attract a new wave of followers, but instead, along with Travis Scott, they let the perfect opportunity go in smoke.

“[The halftime show] was a disgrace,” HHS senior and Patriots fan Katie Dunn said. “This victory wasn’t sweet.”