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For SpongeBob fansacross the internet, it's officially the best day ever.

Hints are piling up that we are one step closer to having Maroon 5 perform "Sweet Victory" during their Super Bowl halftime show set this Sunday.

If you're wondering why Maroon 5 might whip out a song from a popular children's cartoon that also happens to be an 80s hair band-style rock ballad, let's do a brief recap.

SEE ALSO:Super Bowl: How to navigate the controversy

In November 2018, Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, passed away from ALS. It didn't take long for fans to launch a petition on Change.org to have "Sweet Victory" performed at the Super Bowl, of course. With 1.2 million signatures and growing, it's hard to ignore that the people wanted to honor their beloved sponge.

If you still can't wrap your head around what SpongeBob could possibly have to do with football, we're here to clear that up. The song comes from an episode titled "Band Geeks" (which some consider to be the greatest episode of the show) in which the residents of Bikini Bottom form a band to play at the Bubble Bowl. Starting to see the connection?) "Sweet Victory" is their final song -- a victory cry, and an epic finale to a near flawless episode.

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But the buzz surrounding the effort to get the song at the Super Bowl started to build in December when Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where the big game itself will be held, tweeted a SpongeBob gif.

Tweet may have been deleted

That was followed by another tantalizing hint from Maroon 5 in January, when they included a brief glimpse of SpongeBob in a teaser for their halftime performance.

Tweet may have been deleted

Sure it's easy to jump to conclusions here, but does any of this mean Maroon 5 will actually performthe song during their set? Or might they instead quickly reference the show or do a brief homage? Or maybe this is all just a marketing ploy to play on our nostalgia?

Well, there's no way to know for sure, but a new report seems to indicate we might actually get the full song. Two reporters at the stadium have tweeted that they spotted SpongeBob during Maroon 5's halftime rehearsal.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

The final piece of evidence came from Squidward's voice actor himself, Roger Bumpass. In a private Facebook post, he wrote, "To all SpongeBob fans!!! Tune into the Super Bowl because Squidward gets to introduce the halftime entertainment!!!!"

While there hasn't yet been any official confirmation of SpongeBob's involvement, all signs point to some kind of tribute.

So put on you eager faces, SpongeBobfans, and let's get ready to rock this Bubble Bowl -- I mean Super Bowl!

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(责任编辑：熱點)