The super bowl is an iconic sporting event held dear to many. Families and friends will gather around the TV to watch two teams – the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams – play an intense game of football on Sunday, Feb. 3. The excitement is indistinguishable as the anticipation builds. Fans wear their respective jerseys and brace themselves for a victory, or for an inevitable defeat.
 
Some just turn on the TV for the halftime show and pay little attention to the game itself. Make no mistake, the show is just as widely anticipated as the game itself, with famous artists taking the stage and giving a brilliant performance. However, this year the NFL seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve, but not much will actually be confirmed until the show begins. For now, this is all that is known of the performance.
 
The past year has brought much controversy about the NFL’s stance on Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality. In fall of 2018, Rihanna turned down the opportunity to perform the halftime show, out of her support for  Kaepernick. So, the popular band Maroon 5 took Rihanna’s place, leading to even more controversy on the band’s stance on the original debate.
 
There is a possibility that the heat from fans of football and music alike have led to the NFL announcing that the band will not hold the customary press conference prior to the Super Bowl. However, there is no clear reason.
 
Also performing in the halftime show are hip-hop artists Travis Scott and Big Boi. Scott and the NFL have made an agreement to donate $500,000 to different charities, including the Dream Corps.
 
The most interesting rumor going around is that the voice actor of Squidward from the beloved show “Spongebob SquarePants”, Rodger Bumpass, will introduce the halftime event and the artists performing. The rumor was started when Bumpass reportedly shared a series of posts hinting to the possibility on Facebook, but since his account is private, it’s hard to confirm.
 
Ever since the death of Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of “Spongebob Squarepants”, fans have petitioned for incorporating the infamous episode “Band Geeks”, where Squidward puts together a band that performs at the halftime of a football game, into the performance.
 
Another factor to this possibility of a Spongebob and NFL collaboration is that 2019 marks twenty years since the show first aired on TV. Regardless of what will happen regarding the show during halftime, whatever happens will make for an unforgettable event.