The Pop-Tarts Bowl Resurrected The Mascot That Was Eaten After Last Year’s Game

Forget the College Football Playoffs, this is the game I've been looking forward to all year. The Pop-Tarts Bowl is only in its second year but it's already become one of the best events in college football. The bowl game held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida set the world on fire last year, not because of the game itself (I can't even remember who was playing) but because of the spectacle centered around the giant breakfast pastries. In case you've forgotten, at the end of the game, the Pop-Tart mascot entered a giant toaster and came out the bottom, only to be eaten by the winning team. https://twitter.com/PopTartsBowl/status/1740566027912855583 Incredible stuff. Well in one of the most highly-anticipated events of the college football season, the Pop-Tarts Bowl is back today, featuring a matchup between the Miami Hurricanes and the Iowa State Cyclones (or at least their offenses, not sure the defenses showed up). And the game is already as amazing as you could have expected. This year, the Pop-Tarts Bowl features not one but THREE Pop-Tarts mascots, with the winning team choosing one edible toaster pastry mascot to eat after the game. https://twitter.com/PopTartsBowl/status/1873109571486503014 But not only do they have the Pop-Tart mascots, but the bowl game also features sprinkles on the sideline around the field and foil wrapping on the goal posts. https://twitter.com/PopTartsBowl/status/1873095693147251128 They really go all out, which is exactly what I want to see from an otherwise pretty meaningless bowl game. Make it a spectacle. Make it fun. And ahead of the game, the bowl game even welcomed back an old friend: The Pop-Tart that was toasted and eaten after last year's game. In a scene that the European mind couldn't comprehend, the pregame featured a tribute to the fallen Pop-Tart, before resurrecting the giant pastry - minus, of course, the parts that were eaten last year. It looked like a Pop-Tart zombie whose skin had been ripped off...and it was perfection. https://twitter.com/PopTartsBowl/status/1873117872366481816 There's been a lot of talk this bowl season about how meaningless the games have become. My school had to back out of our bowl game because so many of our players transferred, and most teams outside of the playoffs are playing without all of their starters thanks to the transfer portal and players opting out of the games to prepare for the NFL Draft. It's a shame, because there have been some pretty good games so far this bowl season (much better than the playoff games so far), but it's just been hard to really get into bowl season like we used to. Luckily, the Pop-Tarts Bowl seems to have hit on the magic formula: Make it an event that's so over the top and ridiculous you can't help but want to tune in, no matter who's playing. Honestly, at this point, I'm fully on board with making the Pop-Tarts Bowl a playoff game. Hell, make it the National Championship. It's one of the best games of the year, regardless of what happens on the field. I mean, where else are you going to see a breakfast food stripping before the game? https://twitter.com/BovadaOfficial/status/1873108967125336543