The Spongebob meme community on the internet is strong in general, and many were watching in hopes the tribute would be a big honor to the show’s creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died last year.
When the song didn’t play, the internet exploded with memes from slighted Spongebob fans.
Maroon 5 might be paying for that mistake for awhile, as the tease may have made things worse than if the group hadn’t acknowledged Spongebob Squarepants at all.