There are a lot of bowl games with strange moments, but the Pop-Tarts Bowl sure seems to top most of them. That bowl in Orlando has only been under that name for two years now, but its inaugural edition last season saw wild social media conversation, especially around the post-game “sacrifice” of the “edible mascot.” So that’s a tough act to top. But for this year’s game Saturday, the bowl (this time featuring CFP No. 13 Miami and No. 18 Iowa State) went even further.
There, they unveiled an in memoriam banner to the Frosted Strawberry mascot eaten last year. They then followed that with an in-game tribute video (with a soundtrack of “See You Again,” the song by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, commissioned for Fast and Furious 7), complete with the current mascots mourning. And then, they set up its resurrection (to a combination of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” and The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”).
They have an entire memorial for the edible mascot from the 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl outside the stadium pic.twitter.com/Qw11VEBZG4
— Steve Helwick (@s_helwick) December 28, 2024
The three current mascots were emotional. Cinnamon Roll is holding a box of tissues, Wild Berry has a toaster, and Hot Fudge Sundae has flowers. pic.twitter.com/xbJFQgp6mR
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 28, 2024
He is risen! #PopTartsBowl pic.twitter.com/kT0ZHyNH6U
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 28, 2024
That was definitely the strangest moment of the first half. And it, of course, got Art But Sportsed:
The Resurrection, by Benvenuto di Giovanni, 1491, 📸 by @julianmbright pic.twitter.com/PIXQTdBIjd
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) December 28, 2024
But it was far from the only odd moment here. The various mascots for this year also did an “unwrapping,” and combine drills:
Pop Tart mascot strip— uh, unwrapping pic.twitter.com/O1unIxxywZ
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 28, 2024
Pop Tart mascot strip— uh, unwrapping pic.twitter.com/O1unIxxywZ
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 28, 2024
And now the Pop-Tarts are doing Combine drills.
Hot Fudge won, and they received a toaster as their prize. pic.twitter.com/WFkMkExi4E
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 28, 2024
They’ve got Wild Berry Pop Tart running combine drills pic.twitter.com/tnrFcjZ5yI
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) December 28, 2024
This broadcast also saw ESPN on ABC sideline reporter/field analyst Cole Cubelic don his own Pop-Tarts costume:
It’s fair to say that Cole Cubelic is getting into the Pop-Tarts theme at the Pop-Tarts Bowl. 🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/sVBD0yumaL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2024
And the TV broadcast booth of Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers got time with the trophy, which incorporates an actual toaster:
Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers get an up-close look at the Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy that actually features a toaster and Pop-Tarts. 🏈🏆🎙️ https://t.co/47xmvGhWyn pic.twitter.com/Tnv2MKSmDf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 28, 2024
The radio booth got their own Pop-Tarts:
It’s almost time for the @PopTartsBowl at 3:30 ET on @ESPNRadio. Will this box last us the entire game in the radio booth? Only one way to find out… pic.twitter.com/CaI3MDvpJl
— Mike Couzens (@MikeCouzens) December 28, 2024
And there were plenty of Pop-Tarts tie-ins for the non-broadcast media, too:
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 28, 2024
More goodies for the media: a Pop-Tarts ice cream sandwich.
Vanilla ice cream topped with sprinkles between a Wild Berry Pop-Tarts. pic.twitter.com/qJ7rW3ShdY
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 28, 2024
All in all, it made for quite the first-half broadcast. And we’ll see what they can do to top it in the second half. But last year’s version, at least, proved quite worthwhile for Pop-Tarts maker Kellanova (formerly Kellogg’s):
re: the value of this bowl game sponsorship —> Pop-Tarts sold 21 MILLION more toaster pastries in the eight weeks following the 2023 game than it did the eight weeks prior to the game. https://t.co/WEZVZpgetq
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 28, 2024
We’ll see if this bowl and its antics prove as lucrative.
[Pop-Tarts Bowl on X]