Flavor Flav Revealed as Mayo Bowl Mascot, Excites CFB Fans as Minnesota Beats Va Tech

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIJanuary 4, 2025

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - JANUARY 03: Head coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers gets a mayo bath after winning the Duke's Mayo Bowl against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bank of America Stadium on January 03, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Iconic rapper Flavor Flav was revealed as Tubby, the Duke's Mayo Bowl mascot, following Minnesota's 24-10 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday evening.

Minnesota Football @GopherFootball
IT'S FLAVOR FLAV NO WAY!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/DukesMayoBowl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DukesMayoBowl</a> <a href="https://t.co/yt7GvgsULf">pic.twitter.com/yt7GvgsULf</a>

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach
FLAVA FLAV IS TUBBY!!! <a href="https://t.co/gT8guRC1h2">pic.twitter.com/gT8guRC1h2</a>

P.J. Fleck, the elated and surprised Minnesota head coach, hugged Flavor Flav in jubilation. He then quickly became the star of the show after finding himself on the receiving end of a mayo waterfall.

Minnesota Football @GopherFootball
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!<a href="https://twitter.com/Coach_Fleck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Coach_Fleck</a> just took a mayo bath!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RTB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RTB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SkiUMah?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SkiUMah</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gophers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gophers</a> <a href="https://t.co/CwVwqwNV2p">pic.twitter.com/CwVwqwNV2p</a>

ESPN @espn
FLAVOR FLAV POURED MAYO ON MINNESOTA HEAD COACH 😂 <br><br>P.J. Fleck keeping the Duke's Mayo Bowl tradition alive 😭 <a href="https://t.co/jiLyTA8JVG">pic.twitter.com/jiLyTA8JVG</a>

Earlier in the evening, Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports revealed that a celebrity was dressed up as Tubby.

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach
🚨 There is an actual celebrity (!) dressed and performing as Tubby, the delightful <a href="https://twitter.com/DukesMayoBowl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DukesMayoBowl</a> mascot, a source close to the bowl game tells <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSports</a>. The celebrity will reveal him or herself prior to the coach mayo bath at the end of the game. 🚨

The surprise didn't disappoint whatsoever, capping a fun evening in Charlotte.

hayley @thehayarea
I'm learning so much about college sports! One minute there's a football game and the next Flava Flav comes out of a giant mayonnaise bucket and a coach gets dredged in 5 gallons of mayo. Incredible!

DAM Kingpin @DoubleAMGMT
This being flava flav is actually hilarious <a href="https://t.co/kOf8QazzZO">https://t.co/kOf8QazzZO</a>

Mike Miller ⚾️ @mmiller404
We live in a world where Flava Flav just dumped mayo on PJ Fleck.

Connor Ferguson @cfchangs9
Flava Flav being revealed as the Dukes Mayo Bowl mascot feels like the plot of an iCarly episode.

Sarah Effress @saraheffress
PJ Fleck saying yeah boy with Flava Flav at the Mayo Bowl was not on my bingo card tonight but we all won!

Jordan Ferrell @FerrellonFM983
Flavor Flav in a Duke's Mayo jar costume followed by dumping a cooler full of mayo on PJ Fleck. <br><br>College football. 😂

J.R. Larkie @JRlarkie
Flavor Flav being the Mayo Mascot makes no sense... which is why it makes perfect sense. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DukesMayoBowl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DukesMayoBowl</a>

mads 🏠 @madsdaydream
IT WAS FLAVOR FLAV THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER WTFISJSISHD <a href="https://t.co/IryypFwKCo">https://t.co/IryypFwKCo</a>

DraftKings @DraftKings
Even Minnesota HC P. J. Fleck was hype to see FLAVOR FLAV under the Duke's Mayo mascot ⏰🔥 <a href="https://t.co/VzXpJVMLss">https://t.co/VzXpJVMLss</a> <a href="https://t.co/4j5tS2XIh3">pic.twitter.com/4j5tS2XIh3</a>

And thus ended a remarkable night featuring a sports tradition unlike any other.