‘Baby Yoda’ helps Belk Bowl welcome Kentucky and Virginia Tech to Charlotte
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UK in the 2019 Belk Bowl
The University of Kentucky will play Virginia Tech in the 2019 Belk Bowl on Dec. 31. Read more about the Wildcats’ opponent and destination.
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The Belk Bowl Twitter account is among the most entertaining in college football, and it didn’t disappoint with its announcement that Kentucky would meet Virginia Tech for the 2019 rendition of its annual postseason contest.
“Our search is complete …” the account, which boasts more than 33,000 followers, tweeted, along with the official accounts for both programs. A video attached to the post spoofed a moment from the first episode of “The Mandalorian,” a Star Wars television show that airs on Disney Plus.
In the actual scene, the show’s title character opens a pod to discover a character that so far has only been officially referred to as “The Child,” which is of the same species as the famous character “Yoda.”
The Belk Bowl’s edition is very similar, except when the pod opens, The Child’s bulging eyes — normally black — are replaced with UK and Virginia Tech logos. It then cuts to a title card, with “The Mandalorian” theme playing, with information about the game.
The video was just shy of 50,000 views as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
“Obviously that’s something where Disney may send a cease-and-desist to Twitter and have it taken down,” Frank Kay, director of communications and marketing for the Charlotte Sports Foundation, told the Herald-Leader. “But for what it was we thought it was a wonderful concept that they came up with. We’re like, ‘Yea, let’s do it, it’s so worth it even if gets taken down later.’”
Kay said he does not operate the account, which he described as “omnipresent.” Fans have more things to look forward to, he said, in the coming weeks.
“It has a life of its own,” Kay said with a laugh.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 5:49 PM.
