ORLANDO, Fla. – The mascot at Thursday’s Pop-Tarts Bowl went viral after Kansas State players appeared to eat it after the game.
During the game, the mascot — dressed in a large frosted Pop-Tarts costume — was revealed before Kansas went head-to-head against North Carolina State at Camping World Stadium.
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In a release, Pop-Tarts featured the mascot as “the first-ever Edible Mascot,” a product of the company’s Agents of Crazy Good marketing campaign.
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“The Pop-Tarts Bowl Mascot is an IRL manifestation of this campaign; it will run around the stadium interacting with fans and, when the final whistle blows, transform into a game-winning snack for the victors, just like in our most recent advertisements,” the release reads.
According to journalist Rodger Sherman, who attended the event, he asked whether it would be “offensive” to eat a Pop-Tart in front of the mascot. In turn, the mascot reportedly began “force-feeding” the Pop-Tart to Sherman.
I asked if it was offensive to eat a Pop-Tart in front of the @PopTartsBowl mascot and then its handler yelled out “ITS THEIR DREAM” and then the mascot grabbed a Pop-Tart out of my hand and started force-feeding it to me while making soft grunting noises pic.twitter.com/PaCDY6mzu3
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) December 29, 2023
Kansas ultimately triumphed over North Carolina with a score of 28-19, earning a solid win — and a rather morbid prize.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl posted on social media that players would get to “devour” the mascot.
Following Kansas State’s victory, the mascot was seen jumping onto a giant toaster while holding a sign reading “DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE.”
"Dreams really do come true" 😭
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 29, 2023
Kansas State ate the Pop-Tarts mascot 😅 pic.twitter.com/QsRFF8eAUe
A giant edible Pop-Tarts pastry then popped out at the bottom of the toaster, with Kansas State chowing down.
“Leave no crumbs,” the Pop-Tarts Bowl posted afterward.
Leave no crumbs. pic.twitter.com/JNEjHCUXXM
— Pop-Tarts Bowl (@PopTartsBowl) December 29, 2023
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