This is one mascot who will really interact with the winning team.
Sponsors of the Pop-Tarts Bowl announced that the winning team for this year’s college football bowl game at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium will be able to savor victory by eating the mascot.
The game will pit teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 on Dec. 28 at 5:45 p.m. EST and will be aired on ESPN, Sports Illustrated reported.
And while Wheaties bills itself as the Breakfast of Champions, Pop-Tarts will be able to call itself the postgame snack of bowl game winners, according to The Athletic.
According to a news release, the mascot “will run around the stadium interacting with fans and, when the final whistle blows, transform into a game-winning snack for the victors.”
Very important news: The @PopTartsBowl will have the first-ever edible mascot.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 27, 2023
Per the bowl, when the final whistle blows, the winning team will celebrate by taking a bite of the giant pastry mascot. pic.twitter.com/obie6w1qrM
And to think, the bowl game in Orlando was called the Cheez-It Bowl for the past three years. Perhaps a Cheez-It mascot would have been a bit too salty. Meanwhile, the Pop-Tarts mascot represents all that is sweet about a quick breakfast fix.
“For sixty years, Pop-Tarts has sacrificed everything in the name of Crazy Good flavor, so why wouldn’t that include our beloved Football Mascot, too?” Heidi Ray, the senior director of marketing for Pop-Tarts at Kellanova, said in a statement. “Since we announced our title sponsorship of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, fans have been speculating on the larger-than-life game day experiences we will be tackling, and this is the first of many traditions that fans can expect Pop-Tarts to upend on game day.”
Some bowl games have had some strange names. The Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl comes to mind. But the Pop-Tarts Bowl has a lot to live up to.
Last year’s game saw Florida State win a 35-32 game against Oklahoma.
For those worried about the mascot’s well-being after the game, there is no need to fret.
Sarah Reinecke, vice president of marketing for Pop-Tarts at Kellanova, told The Athletic in an email that the edible mascot will be revealed after the game. She said it “is made entirely with real, food grade ingredients, ready to be enjoyed in its entirety.”
“During the grand entrance and for the entirety of the game, there will be a traditional mascot costume made from fabric and other non-edible materials that a person will wear,” Reinecke said. “The edible mascot will only be revealed after the game ends.”
“No humans will be harmed in the enjoyment of the Pop-Tarts edible mascot.”
That’s a relief.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl is not the first postseason game to use food as a gimmick.
At the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the winning coach got a tub of mayonnaise dumped over his head, Sports Illustrated reported. South Carolina’s Shane Beamer got the bath in 2021 and Maryland’s Mike Locksley was smeared in mayo last year, according to The Athletic.
The winning coach of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl got a french fry shower. When the Frisco Bowl was sponsored by Tropical Smoothie Cafe in 2019 and 2021, players doused the winning coach in a smoothie.
Well, it beats mayonnaise.
And the good news for the Pop-Tarts bowl mascot is that they will not be popped into a toaster after the game.
