Tag: Pop-Tarts Bowl

The Pop-Tart mascot everyone loved was reportedly played by a beloved former NBA mascot

Strawberry was named For The Win’s best mascot of bowl season.

When we think back to this college football bowl season, we’ll remember the perfectly unserious Pop-Tarts Bowl and its beloved mascot, Strawberry.

College football fans were first introduced to the mascot (non-edible version) when he gloriously popped out of a giant toaster on the field as “…Ready For It?” by Taylor Swift played in the background.

He captured the hearts of all those who watched the game and he became an instant meme for menacingly creeping behind a referee. Strawberry shared a hilarious message before it evolved into its final, edible form and he was then mourned by fans around the world once it was eaten.

As we tried to learn everything we possibly could about this mascot, we discovered some truly incredible reporting by ESPN’s Sarah Spain.

According to Spain, the mascot (non-edible version) was played by the same person who portrayed Benny The Bull for more than a decade until stepping away in 2016.

When he wore the costume we got to see what it was like to live as a mascot when he wore a Go-Pro; he had an amazing and powerful message to former Clippers owner Donald Sterling; he did acrobatic flips; he saved relationships between couples; he spilled popcorn on Rajon Rondo; he even made referees dance with him.

His legacy lives on and For The Win named Benny The Bull as the best mascot in the NBA. For The Win, meanwhile, recently crowned Strawberry as the best mascot of college football bowl season.

[lawrence-related id=2183908,2183895,2183870,2183854,2183839]

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl mascot wanted everyone to know it isn’t edible and college football fans had jokes

The mascot was CONCERNED for its safety.

While there are legitimate arguments to be made that expanding the College Football Playoff will take away from the non-CFP bowl games, those people are grossly underestimating a brand’s capacity for meme-worthy weirdness.

Bowl season will be fine when you have mascots being sacrificed (and eaten) and others fearing for its life.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl made for amazing television, and it had almost nothing to do with Kansas State’s win. It was weird, and the game’s mascot was lowered into a toaster and eaten as part of K-State’s celebration. So, on Monday, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl mascot was not taking any chances.

The mascot held up a sign to let everyone know that it was not an edible mascot.

I mean, after the Pop-Tarts Bowl’s display, the Cheez-It mascot’s days are probably numbered. I’d fully expect it to be edible next season.

But until then, college football fans had jokes about the sign.

9 hilarious Pop-Tarts Bowl photos of, well, Pop-Tarts

Safe to say the Pop-Tarts Bowl is now a college football fan favorite.

It’s safe to say the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which is the beloved Cheez-It Bowl rebranded, is among college football fans’ favorite bowl games after Thursday night’s inaugural game.

There were Pop-Tarts everywhere — from the (non-edible) mascot popping out of a giant toaster to meet the people for the first time only to be eulogized after the game to victorious Kansas State players devouring the edible mascot to the subsequent Pop-Tarts-inspired memes.

RELATED: The Pop-Tarts Bowl was perfectly unserious and more bowl games should be exactly like it

Sure, the Wildcats topped NC State in an exciting game, but the abundance of Pop-Tarts really stole the show at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. And practically overnight, the bowl’s popularity exploded.

So here’s a look back at some hilarious Pop-Tarts photos from the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

In Honor of Pop-Tarts Bowl – Which Pop-Tarts are the Best?

In honor of the @poptartsbowl – which is your favorite flavor?

Back in June it was announced that the bowl game formerly known as the Cheez-It Bowl was changing its title sponsor to Pop-Tarts.  It is a game that Notre Dame played in previously when it was the Champs Sports Bowl and then again when it was the Camping World Bowl.

Notre Dame doesn’t play in it this year, instead that battle is between Kansas State and North Carolina State and takes place tonight.

When the news came down that the sponsor changed this past summer however, I sent a message to the team here at Fighting Irish Wire asking their pick for best flavor Pop-Tarts.  Here is what we came up with:

The Pop-Tarts Bowl’s trophy is scrumptious

The Pop-Tarts Bowl could have the best trophy of any bowl game

The first Pop-Tarts Bowl will take place on Thursday.

The game matches North Carolina State and Kansas State.

The stakes will be high once the schools get a look at the trophy that goes to the winner.

They will want s’mores.

We just got a reason to want Notre Dame in the Pop-Tarts Bowl

Don’t say you don’t want to see this.

With Notre Dame waiting to see what bowl game it will be invited to, speculation about it is running wild. At this point, your guess is as good as mine. But what if I told you there now is something to look forward to should the Irish play in the renamed Pop-Tarts Bowl? College football insider Nicole Auerbach has the scoop:

Yes, you read that right. If the Irish are invited to the Pop-Tarts Bowl and win it, they will be helping themselves to a bite out of the giant Pop-Tart that is serving as the game’s mascot. Now isn’t that better than the thought of [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] having mayonnaise poured on him after a Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory?

To make things even more interesting, the Irish won this bowl in 2019 when it was the Camping World Bowl. So it’s not out of the question to see them in this game again. I personally am rooting for it because who doesn’t love Pop-Tarts?

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

The Cheez-It Bowl is now the Pop-Tarts Bowl

The Cheez-It Bowl is no more, now we will see the first Pop-Tarts Bowl in 2023.

There is now a new bowl sponsor for the annual game featuring the ACC and Big 12.

The Dec. 28 game will now be known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl according to a press release from Florida Citrus Sports. Last season it was known as the Cheez-It Bowl and featured the Florida State-Oklahoma matchup. Ultimately the Seminoles were able to pick up the win, their 10th of the season.

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl will remain the same and that game will kick off on Jan. 1 featuring a matchup of the Big Ten and SEC. The newly named Pop-Tarts Bowl will kick off at 5:45 ET and will be live on ESPN.

“Since turning toast and jam into an ingenious toaster pastry almost 60 years ago, Pop-Tarts has always been about making the world more fun, more unexpected and more delicious for fans of all kinds,” said Heidi Ray, Senior Director of Marketing, Pop-Tarts. “We’re ecstatic to be the new title sponsor of the Pop-Tarts Bowl with our partners at Florida Citrus Sports and cannot wait to host Crazy Good experiences for fans and players alike in Orlando, and for those joining us from home.” via Florida Citrus Sports press release

It remains to be seen if Pop-Tart will have anything like what we saw from Cheez-It.