For the first two decades of its existence, Charlotte's bowl game was just another bowl game. Sure, a Nick Chubb or a Dak Prescott would come along once in a blue moon, but there was little to distinguish the contest from college football's postseason tapestry.
Enter Duke's Mayo. Now, even the most casual college football fans know the Duke's Mayo Bowl's winning coach gets doused with a bath of watered-down mayonnaise.
Or so we think, according to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"That's yellow paint, that's not mayo," Kelce told his brother and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce on their podcast New Heights. "They knew that they couldn't f------ dump mayo on somebody 'cause they would probably throw up."
I’m fully on board with Trav’s Mayo bowl conspiracy theory @PrizePicks pic.twitter.com/wVk9Xm9EvT
— New Heights (@newheightshow) January 5, 2024
Kelce went on to accuse the Duke's Mayo Bowl of dumping "not real mayonnaise" on coach Neal Brown after West Virginia's 30–10 victory over North Carolina on Dec. 27.
The game—ever present on social media, dating back to its Belk sponsorship from 2011-19—responded by posting pictures of Duke's Mayo, complete with instructions for recreating the mayonnaise bat at home.
🤔 https://t.co/79B1w1CL2r pic.twitter.com/yzoXsCTgAU
— Duke's Mayo Bowl (@DukesMayoBowl) January 5, 2024
The bowl's administration was seemingly unmoved by Kelce's other statement toward the game.
"Also, disgusting if it was real mayonnaise," Kelce said. "So I kinda respect it."