Why is JJ Watt boycotting Tator Tots after Wisconsin basketball's loss to BYU in March Madness second round? We explain.
JJ Watt and all of Wisconsin basketball fans might be taking a little break from Tator Tots.
The Wisconsin alum and NFL legend's temporary boycott comes after the Badgers basketball team's crushing loss to BYU, 91-89, in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night.
"Boycotting tator tots for the next 48 hours," Watt tweeted not long after the devastating defeat.
What do Tator Tots have to do with Wisconsin's March Madness loss against BYU?
BYU basketball's Richie Saunders' connection to Tator Tots explained
Richie Saunders, BYU's star player who lit up the scoreboard against Wisconsin on Saturday, is the great-grandson of one of the founders of Ore-Ida, which created Tator Tots, according to an article in The Sporting News.
Boycotting tater tots for the next 48 hours.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 23, 2025
Saunders even has an NIL sponsorship Ore-Ida.
Ore-Ida tweeted before BYU's first-round victory over VCU that it was giving away free tots if BYU won.
We're teaming up with basketball hotshot Richie Saunders, the great-grandson of Ore-Ida founder and inventor of Tater Tots, to give away free tots if Richie's team wins today. If they win, the countdown for our 30-minute ‘Tot Clock’ will begin at the link in our IG bio post-game! pic.twitter.com/QwKKCFtVfs
— Ore-Ida Potatoes (@OreIdaPotatoes) March 20, 2025
Watt, who was celebrating his 36th birthday on Saturday, addressed the Tator Tot connection with a video on the CBS broadcast ahead of the game. At that point the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year had a much different tune.
"That's impressive. He deserves a statue," Watt said in the video about Saunders' great-grandfather.
He also tweeted "have to honor and pay respect ot the kid on BYU who's great grandfather invented Tator Tots. Greatness is greatness. Man is a legend."
Respect for tater tots, but On Wisconsin
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2025
😂Birthday boy @JJWattpic.twitter.com/6mILxaHfXT
Richie Saunders points vs Wisconsin
Saunders will be legendary around Provo, Utah, if he keeps doing what he did to Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament.
The senior scored a team-high 25 points on 9 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three-point range with seven rebounds and zero turnovers in 30 minutes. He was also a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: JJ Watt boycotting Tator Tots after Wisconsin basketball loss to BYU
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