‘In my own world:’ Puyallup man goes viral with Potato Bowl dance moves — and odd snack
Forget the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. For Jim Allen, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is the epitome of postseason college football games.
“It’s the only bowl game marketed by a vegetable, which is pretty cool,” Allen said in a phone interview on Monday.
So for the past seven years, it’s been the 30-year-old college football fan’s top bowl destination, in part because it’s about an 8-hour drive from his home in Puyallup. And last Friday, it became his claim to fame.
In an ESPN clip that went viral on Twitter, Allen shimmied his way into the spotlight at the Boise bowl game, taking bites out of raw potatoes clenched in each fist in Albertsons Stadium.
Journalist Timothy Burke shared the clip on his Twitter account Friday afternoon: “ignore the dancing, this man appears to be eating raw potatoes,” he wrote to his 63,000 followers. Soon after, sports blog Barstool Sports shared the same clip to 2 million followers.
“Nobody has started their decade better than this fella in the soda fountain hoodie at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl,” the site tweeted.
Allen would agree.
A longtime fan of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Allen, who does stand-up comedy and works as a substitute teacher, said it has long been his goal to be on television at one of the bowl games he attends. For several years, he brought signs to Boise in hopes of drawing the attention of the ESPN camera crew.
“I wanted my vibe on TV,” he said. “(The signs) kind of worked, but I realized the way for me to get on TV was dance moves.”
For the December 2018 bowl, his plan worked — kind of. Allen had stopped for an energy drink on his way to Boise and saw potatoes at the store. Thinking they’d make the perfect Potato Bowl prop, he bought them. He managed to bring them into the stadium (though security nearly stopped him for taking food into the venue), and got himself and the spuds on the Jumbotron.
This time around, he wanted to go bigger. He already knew dancing was the key.
“My moves are noticeable and they’re distinct, and I’m pretty proud of them,” said Allen, who has practiced dancing while working at a children’s summer camp.
“I decided to do the same thing (as last year), but instead of the Jumbotron, I wanted to get on ESPN,” he said. “I found the camera crew before the game and said, ‘Hey, I brought my potatoes and I’m going to be dancing in case you need any footage.’”
Around the third quarter, the camera crew stopped in front of Allen and pointed to him. It was his moment to shine.
“I danced for about 20 seconds and then started eating the potatoes,” he said. “That’s kind of the punch line.”
The Twitter speculation was right — the potatoes were raw.
“They’re very earthy,” Allen said. “I didn’t wash them either, because I was kind of in my own world.”
He spit the potatoes out when the cameras were no longer on him, he said. But he plans to try it again at the next Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
“I don’t particularly enjoy them, but I think next year I’ll work on acquiring the taste so I can eat one whole,” he said.
He also plans to wear a custom romper made from a potato sack.
“Is he actually just eating straight potatoes?”
The video of Allen aired on ESPN during the bowl game. It also made it on SportsCenter later that night. The Barstool Sports video has been viewed 450,000 times and racked up more than 3,000 Twitter likes and 270 retweets.
Dozens of people responded to compliment Allen’s signature dance moves or express disbelief that he would chow down on raw potatoes.
“Is he actually just eating straight potatoes?” one person tweeted. Another person wanted to know his french fry preference (straight fries won out over crinkle cut).
He’s not the first to raise eyebrows for snacking on uncooked spuds. In 2018, Brigham Young University coach Kalani Sitake shared his affinity for potatoes at a press conference ahead of his team’s appearance in the bowl game.
“You ever had a potato raw? It’s good,” Sitake said. “You can peel it and eat it like an apple. I’m serious. I’ve had potatoes a thousand ways.”
After Ohio beat Nevada last Friday, the Bobcats doused coach Frank Solich in a fry bath rather than the traditional sports-drink shower. He even took a nibble out of one.
The outcome of Friday’s game didn’t much matter either way to Allen, because he’s not at the bowl game to root for one side or the other.
“I’m the guy with the potatoes, so I’m pretty neutral,” he said. “I’m rooting for the potatoes.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 4:00 AM with the headline "‘In my own world:’ Puyallup man goes viral with Potato Bowl dance moves — and odd snack."
