Kansas State celebrates bowl win with hugs, pictures and a whole bunch of Pop-Tarts
Bowl celebrations don’t get much sweeter than what Kansas State experienced at the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Immediately after the Wildcats defeated North Carolina State 28-19 on Thursday at Camping World Stadium they began chowing down on the delicious toasted pastries that sponsored this particular postseason game.
The party got started when K-State players dumped a water jug filled with Pop-Tarts on head coach Chris Klieman. Then bowl representatives handed out boxes of Pop-Tarts to just about everyone on the field who was wearing purple.
Next came the main event: a massive strawberry flavored Pop-Tart that emerged from a giant toaster adjacent to the trophy presentation.
The giant Pop-Tart, which was described as an edible mascot, was several feet in length. Only the winning team got to eat it.
Klieman and K-State quarterback Avery Johnson were the first to indulge. As soon as the huge Pop-Tart was presented, Klieman dug into it with his hands and took a bite. Then he started tossing it to players as he flashed a smile from ear to ear. Johnson broke off a piece and carried it around as he took pictures with teammates and fans.
All while confetti rained down upon them.
The edible mascot didn’t survive long. In a matter of minutes, K-State players reduced it to crumbs.
“That is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” K-State offensive lineman Cooper Beebe said. “I will tell you why. It was surprising really good. It had a hard bottom but the top was kind of like cake with icing. So it was actually very good. I would definitely recommend doing that again.”
As good as this game was, both teams took a back seat to the bowl mascot.
He was the real star.
Before kickoff, the Pop-Tarts Bowl towed a trailer-sized toaster to midfield and revealed a man wearing a Pop-Tarts costume with entertaining theatrics. The mascot jumped out of the top of the toaster as fireworks went off around him. For the next three hours, the mascot roamed the sidelines and joined in all kinds of different antics for fans to enjoy.
But after the game the mascot was lowered back into the toaster. Out popped an edible version for everyone to enjoy.
“I was embracing the moment and eating Pop-Tarts at the Pop-Tarts Bowl,” K-State defensive back VJ Payne said. “I was glad it was strawberry. That is my favorite flavor besides blueberry. I was enjoying my Pop-Tart after the game.”
“It was crazy,” K-State running back DJ Giddens added. “I don’t know what else to say. It was just crazy.”
A food sponsor added to the celebration. But there were also plenty of traditional hugs, pictures and high fives.
The entire offensive line made sure to take a picture with interim coordinator Conor Riley after he called plays for the first time. Klieman shared a long hug with Johnson and told him how much he is looking forward to watching him play over the next few seasons.
Klieman stayed on the field long after the game was over to take pictures with his family. He didn’t seem to mind being covered in both Gatorade and crumbs from Pop-Tarts.
The Wildcats had plenty of reasons to be excited. They ended their season on a high note. The last time they did that was in the 2021 Texas Bowl, which turned out to be a launching point for them as they won a Big 12 championship the following year.
“That’s awesome,” K-State linebacker Austin Moore said. “This has some of the same vibes as that Texas Bowl. I think it’s going to give us a bunch of momentum and confidence going into next year and hopefully we can do what we did after we won that game.”
This story was originally published December 28, 2023 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Kansas State celebrates bowl win with hugs, pictures and a whole bunch of Pop-Tarts."