Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl broadcast has viewers in stitches over Spongebob-themed game

The 2024 Super Bowl reached millions of viewers on Sunday evening, but it was the kid-friendly version on Nickelodeon that had people laughing all night long.

Super Bowl LVIII on 11 February saw the Kansas City Chiefs claim their fourth Super Bowl title, beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. Not only was this year’s Super Bowl one of the most nail-biting games in recent history, but it also brought about many famous faces, including Taylor Swift.

As people tuned into CBS to watch the big game, over on Nickelodeon – which is also owned by parent company Paramount Global – the iconic cartoon characters Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star were commentating their own version of the Super Bowl.

The Spongebob Squarepants stars – voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively – were streaming live from a broadcast booth overlooking Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In a TikTok video shared by the official Nickelodeon account, Kenny and Fagerbakke were seen dressed in green screen-friendly suits and helmets. The actors then appeared as their animated characters on TV screens through reality-augmented animation.

Joined by Kenny and Fagerbakke were real-life sports commentators Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson, as well as the cast of characters from Bikini Bottom. Sandy Cheeks was reporting from the sidelines, while Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer explained the rules of the game as a self-proclaimed “rules expert”.

To open the Super Bowl, the cast of Spongebob Squarepants performed their hit song “Sweet Victory”, made famous from the 2001 episode “Band Geeks”. As the camera cut to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the broadcast referred to him as “Taylor Swift’s boyfriend” and “good at football” in the lower third. As for celebrities watching the game, famous names like Billie Eilish and LeBron James were changed to “Billie Eelish” and “LePrawn James” in honour of the underwater theme.

It wouldn’t be a Nickelodeon broadcast, of course, without green slime. Throughout the Super Bowl, animated cannons shot out green slime during field goals and touchdowns, while jellyfish from Bikini Bottom’s Jellyfish Fields made cameos.

Unsurprisingly, the amusing Spongebob Squarepants-themed Super Bowl prompted some amazing memes and reactions from viewers on social media.

“The Nickelodeon Super Bowl has been insane,” one viewer wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“From now on I’m watching the Super Bowl on Nickelodeon bc this is exactly how I need it explained,” another person said.

“The Nickelodeon Super Bowl rocks lmao. 49ers dropped a pass and a banner popped up on the screen that said FIRMLY GRASP IT,” a third user said, referencing an iconic quote from the season one episode, “Jellyfishing”.

When the Chiefs scored their final winning touchdown, Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star were seen celebrating from their box. “And now comes the big proposal,” joked voice actor Kenny, echoing how many people believed Kelce would propose to Swift after the Super Bowl.

Although there was no proposal – that fans are aware of, at least – the “Cruel Summer” singer rushed to the field to congratulate her boyfriend on winning the Super Bowl once again. Photographers captured the moment Swift and Kelce kissed and hugged on the field. Meanwhile, halftime show performer Usher delivered some spectacular dance routines and some impressive costume changes.