Move Over, Taylor Swift! College Football Team Eats Pop-Tarts Mascot In Winning Celebration So Bizarre You Have To See It To Believe It

By Samantha Nungesser Twitter @samjnungesser
Published Dec. 29, 2023, 9:39 a.m. ET

More On:

college football

The Kansas City Chiefs might have Taylor Swift, but Kansas State has the first-ever edible mascot. After the college football team’s win at Thursday night’s (Dec. 28) Pop-Tarts Bowl, the team was honored with the opportunity to indulge in the tasty treat.

The annual event ended with the Kansas State Wildcats defeating the North Carolina State Wolfpack (28-19). To celebrate the victory, the latter’s head coach Chris Klieman’s players dumped a bucket of mini Pop-Tarts over his head, before drenching him in Gatorade, per CBS Sports.

Things only grew more absurd as a person dressed as a giant (edible) Pop-Tart appeared on top of an even bigger “toaster” holding a sign that read, “Dreams really do come true,” before descending into the toaster slot. The strawberry-frosted treat popped out near the field where Klieman and quarterback Avery Johnson, who was named MVP of the game, were the first to dig into the mascot. Not long after, the rest of the team joined in on the sugary feast.

Kansas State — which has won two bowls in the last three years — was also gifted a trophy containing Pop-Tarts that were … you guessed it … also edible.

The bowl, which was played in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, was founded in 1990. It held various names including the Champs Sports Bowl, the Russell Athletic Bowl and the Camping World Bowl.

When Kellanova, previously known as Kellogg’s, began sponsoring the event in 2020, it became known as the Cheez-It Bowl for three years, before debuting as the Pop-Tarts Bowl in 2023 — and it’s safe to say that fans were loving the rebranding.

“When you combine this w/the toaster trophy it is neither difficult, nor an exaggeration, to say that the Pop-Tarts Bowl has taken its place as the cultural epicenter of college football,” one wrote, while another added, “The Pop-Tarts Bowl is the greatest bowl game ever created.”

A third person wrote, “I want all of the coverage of this mascot. Give me a YouTube series. TikTok show. Every crowd angle. Screw the football game, I want to go for the Pop-Tarts Bowl for the mascot shenanigans.”

Someone else said, “We must do everything to keep Pop-Tarts as a Bowl sponsor. The Pop-Tart was killing it last night.”