Wheaties are the breakfast of champions. Pop-Tarts, apparently, are the postgame snack of bowl winners.
That will be the case at the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl, at least, which will feature an edible mascot who “will run around the stadium interacting with fans and, when the final whistle blows, transform into a game-winning snack for the victors,” according to a release from snack brand Kellanova.
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The edible mascot, which will be revealed after the game, “is made entirely with real, food grade ingredients, ready to be enjoyed in its entirety,” Sarah Reinecke, vice president of marketing for Pop-Tarts at Kellanova, told The Athletic via email. “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. 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,” Reinecke added.
The game kicks off at 5:45 p.m. ET on Dec. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
The bowl game, which was branded as the Cheez-It Bowl from 2020 to 2022, pits the top ACC team outside the New Year’s Six bowl games against the second selection from the Big 12 outside the NY6 games.
The Athletic predicts N.C. State will face West Virginia in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, though the estimated postgame matchups are fluid and change as the season progresses.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl isn’t the first to incorporate food as a bowl gimmick. Far from it.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer’s reward for a bowl win? A coat of mayo. (Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)South Carolina coach Shane Beamer received a “celebratory” mayonnaise bath in 2021 after leading the Gamecocks to a win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. Maryland coach Mike Locksley got the same treatment last year.
Multiple coaches, including Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, have had Cheez-Its dumped on their heads following Cheez-It Bowl victories.
A Cheez-It Bath for Cheez-It Bowl winner Dabo Swinney 🧀 pic.twitter.com/Ungs0mrokx
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 30, 2021
The winning coach of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl also receives a french fry shower. The Sun Bowl, sponsored by Kellogg’s/Tony the Tiger since 2019, features a Frosted Flakes bath. And when the Frisco Bowl was sponsored by Tropical Smoothie Cafe in 2019 and 2021, players doused winning coach in a smoothie. Seriously.
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The most famous on-field food perhaps belongs to the NFL, where players who stand out during Thanksgiving matchups receive a post-game turkey leg to eat and wield like a badge of honor.
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(Top photo: Tiffany Hagler-Geard / Getty Images)
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