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Mississippi State football fans are famous for bringing cowbells to games, leading to a constant clanging that reverberates throughout Davis Wade Stadium that drives visiting teams and sometimes even fans watching from afar on TV crazy.
During the Bulldogs’ run to the Women’s College World Series, their fans have turned to a different kind of object to hold in support of their beloved team.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA makes exception for Mississippi State softball fans, allows broccoli at WCWS
Mississippi State has been arguably the biggest story in the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament, as a program that had previously made it to the super regional round just once ever is now in its first WCWS after toppling national powerhouse Oklahoma, which had won four of the past five NCAA championships.
What has unexpectedly become a central part of that uplifting ride to Oklahoma City has been broccoli, which fans and even players have been holding and waving as something of a rally prop and good-luck charm.
As the Bulldogs begin their WCWS journey with a game against Texas Tech on Thursday, May 28, here’s a closer look at Mississippi State’s broccoli backstory:
Mississippi State softball’s unexpected run to the WCWS has been fueled by broccoli, confirming everything your mother said when she insisted to you as a kid that you eat that weird, tree-like vegetable on your plate.
This week at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Bulldogs players in the dugout and their fans in the stands will be holding heads of broccoli.
How Mississippi State became so indelibly linked with the fiber-rich vegetable is a story of its own.
While the Bulldogs were competing in the Eugene Regional of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in Eugene, Oregon, a fan was spotted in the stands dancing while holding a head of broccoli in each head. The man’s name is Jim Stewart Allen, but he quickly became known as “Broccoli Guy.”
REQUIRED READING: 8 best softball players at the Women's College World Series, ranked
Allen attends sporting events all around the Pacific Northwest. He first went viral for dancing with (and eating) a different kind of vegetable, brandishing a pair of potatoes at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho in 2020. He later moved on to broccoli, believing the vegetable to look like a pair of pom-poms. He debuted the new look at a Seattle Dragons XFL game and has brought broccoli with him to several other Seattle professional sports games.
“I think sports can get really intense and mean, and I like to embody that (spirit of) we’re here playing a game together,” Allen said to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
This spring, his exploits brought him to Oregon for the regional round of the NCAA tournament. His dancing, and the broccoli he was holding, caught the eye of Mississippi State’s players, including freshman utility player Ally Supan, who started dancing in the dugout, as well.
“As the tournament wore on, I just started really admiring the energy of Mississippi State,” Allen said to the Clarion Ledger.
As fate would have it, the Bulldogs team Allen developed an affection for won the regional, defeating Saint Mary’s and regional site host Oregon to advance to the super regional round against Oklahoma. And sure enough, Allen, and his broccoli, followed them there. Against the Sooners, Mississippi State pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the tournament, winning the best-of-three series with a 6-0 victory in Game 3 to keep Oklahoma out of the WCWS for the first time since 2015.
A ritual that was previously limited to Allen and Bulldogs players in the dugout will now be available to others. Though outside food is prohibited at Devon Park, the NCAA is making an exception for broccoli this week, allowing Mississippi State fans to take part in the festivities.
"I just think it's cool that everybody's jumping on the whole broccoli thing," Penny Grassel, the mother of Bulldogs outfielder Gretta Grassel, said to the Clarion Ledger. "It's just a fun thing to do. ... It's cool that the (Women's) College World Series has just allowed that to happen and just let these girls live out their dream and have fun with the broccoli."
The broccoli should be out in full force for the Bulldogs' second game of the Women's College World Series on Friday, May 29, with the Bulldogs in need of a significant rally after getting run-ruled 8-0 by No. 11 Texas Tech on May 28.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why does Mississippi State softball have broccoli at WCWS?
Continue reading...
During the Bulldogs’ run to the Women’s College World Series, their fans have turned to a different kind of object to hold in support of their beloved team.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA makes exception for Mississippi State softball fans, allows broccoli at WCWS
Mississippi State has been arguably the biggest story in the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament, as a program that had previously made it to the super regional round just once ever is now in its first WCWS after toppling national powerhouse Oklahoma, which had won four of the past five NCAA championships.
What has unexpectedly become a central part of that uplifting ride to Oklahoma City has been broccoli, which fans and even players have been holding and waving as something of a rally prop and good-luck charm.
As the Bulldogs begin their WCWS journey with a game against Texas Tech on Thursday, May 28, here’s a closer look at Mississippi State’s broccoli backstory:
Why does Mississippi State softball have broccoli during games?
Mississippi State softball’s unexpected run to the WCWS has been fueled by broccoli, confirming everything your mother said when she insisted to you as a kid that you eat that weird, tree-like vegetable on your plate.
This week at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Bulldogs players in the dugout and their fans in the stands will be holding heads of broccoli.
How Mississippi State became so indelibly linked with the fiber-rich vegetable is a story of its own.
While the Bulldogs were competing in the Eugene Regional of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in Eugene, Oregon, a fan was spotted in the stands dancing while holding a head of broccoli in each head. The man’s name is Jim Stewart Allen, but he quickly became known as “Broccoli Guy.”
REQUIRED READING: 8 best softball players at the Women's College World Series, ranked
Allen attends sporting events all around the Pacific Northwest. He first went viral for dancing with (and eating) a different kind of vegetable, brandishing a pair of potatoes at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho in 2020. He later moved on to broccoli, believing the vegetable to look like a pair of pom-poms. He debuted the new look at a Seattle Dragons XFL game and has brought broccoli with him to several other Seattle professional sports games.
“I think sports can get really intense and mean, and I like to embody that (spirit of) we’re here playing a game together,” Allen said to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
This spring, his exploits brought him to Oregon for the regional round of the NCAA tournament. His dancing, and the broccoli he was holding, caught the eye of Mississippi State’s players, including freshman utility player Ally Supan, who started dancing in the dugout, as well.
“As the tournament wore on, I just started really admiring the energy of Mississippi State,” Allen said to the Clarion Ledger.
As fate would have it, the Bulldogs team Allen developed an affection for won the regional, defeating Saint Mary’s and regional site host Oregon to advance to the super regional round against Oklahoma. And sure enough, Allen, and his broccoli, followed them there. Against the Sooners, Mississippi State pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the tournament, winning the best-of-three series with a 6-0 victory in Game 3 to keep Oklahoma out of the WCWS for the first time since 2015.
A ritual that was previously limited to Allen and Bulldogs players in the dugout will now be available to others. Though outside food is prohibited at Devon Park, the NCAA is making an exception for broccoli this week, allowing Mississippi State fans to take part in the festivities.
"I just think it's cool that everybody's jumping on the whole broccoli thing," Penny Grassel, the mother of Bulldogs outfielder Gretta Grassel, said to the Clarion Ledger. "It's just a fun thing to do. ... It's cool that the (Women's) College World Series has just allowed that to happen and just let these girls live out their dream and have fun with the broccoli."
The broccoli should be out in full force for the Bulldogs' second game of the Women's College World Series on Friday, May 29, with the Bulldogs in need of a significant rally after getting run-ruled 8-0 by No. 11 Texas Tech on May 28.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why does Mississippi State softball have broccoli at WCWS?
Continue reading...
