Dancing Pop-Tarts, dumping mayo on coaches, and Cheez-It NIL deals are just some of the headlines that are dominating bowl games this year. The mascots and events are certainly getting a lot of attention, but is it working? Is it making bowl games better? In almost every way…yes.
It’s a college football thing, you wouldn’t get it. pic.twitter.com/Xlr6FoI9GG
— AJ Spurr (@SpurrFM) December 28, 2023
Long Term Bowl Game Solution or a Distraction?
Everyone who has social media saw the Pop-Tart last night. Whether it was it catching a field goal kick, slapping a security guard’s behind, or dropping down into a toaster before being devoured, the internet went crazy with the mascot.
What did people not go crazy over? The teams playing.
As an avid college football fan and Big 12 writer, I was watching for the actual game and can tell you that the game between Kansas State and NC State was a fantastic game. But the average fan probably couldn’t have told you that.
THE POP-TARTS BOWL 😤 pic.twitter.com/1INhxJsVyt
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 28, 2023
This puts things in an interesting spot. On one hand, you’ve got attention on the game which is never a bad thing. Higher ratings mean more money. But what happens when the Pop-Tart isn’t a new thing anymore? Will the Pop-Tart mascot still be trending in three years?
Trendy But Not Sustainable, or is it?
Looking back at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the first year of the Mayo dump was clearly the most televised and talked about. Spuddy Buddy, the Idaho Potato Bowl mascot was the face of ‘odd’ bowl games for years, yet isn’t really talked about anymore. Last year, Cheez-It hosted an NIL deal where two players from each team got to stay in a Cheez-It themed hotel. Cheez-It once again is doing a NIL deal this year, but it isn’t getting the same publicity. This would suggest that maybe this trend won’t last.
Michael Turk is the perfect choice for the Cheez-It Hotel Room. @HangtimeYT @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/3B6Icw3YVr
— Kimberly Swanson Private of the Stutsman Army (@KimberlySwanso5) December 27, 2022
That doesn’t mean it needs to stop.
Pop-Tarts will never be talked about as much as they were last night. Ever. That is just a fact, unless they do something crazy like have the Pop-Tart parachute into the stadium (idea?). But they will still get talked about. People will still tune in for the game every year to see the Pop-Tart mascot. And when they stop, Pop-Tarts will sell the rights to the bowl game and another bowl game will pick it up. Imagine Kellogg’s sponsoring a game (not just Frosted Flakes or Pop-Tarts) and having a cereal eating contest at halftime, or the mascots racing down the field.
College Football is Becoming an Amateur’s League so the Fun Needs to Come Back
How many people talk about the NBA G-League? What about Double-A Baseball? Korn Ferry Tour Golf? With no disrespect to those athletes, there’s a reason ESPN and other media companies aren’t pushing their content out: there isn’t a huge following.
College Football is moving towards being the NFL-lite. With NIL and the transfer portal as unregulated as it is, we may only be a few years away from the sport in a way destroying itself. What college sports needs is regulation and fun.
These bowl game changes are bringing the fun back. If that’s what it takes to save the sport, or at least delay what is starting to appear as the inevitable, so be it!
Keep the Fun Coming
Were college football fans talking about Kansas State last night? No, they were talking about Pop-Tarts. Can I name the teams who were in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last year? No, but I still tune in every year to see people eat mayo on the most random things and then the mayo dump. Want to know which game I won’t be tuning in for? The R&L Carriers Bowl, or the RoofClaim.com Bowl. Why? Because I don’t particularly care about the teams, and the game itself isn’t doing much to draw me in.
For that reason, bring on the Pop Tarts, Dukes’ Mayo, and Cheez Its!