Two different College World Series fanbases have shattered the Rocco’s Pizza & Cantina Jell-O Shot Challenge record. Both Arkansas (5,644 shots) and Ole Miss (4,579 shots) have eclipsed Mississippi State’s mark, set at 2,968 servings of wiggly, room-temperature, vaguely alcoholic drinks in 2021, by more than 1,500 shots apiece.
At the time of publication, the 2022 College World Series hadn’t even completed its fourth day.
Rocco’s has been the backdrop for an epic war between SEC West rivals as they battle toward a national championship. Arkansas, who’d previously set the cantina record in 2019 before getting lapped by Bulldog fans last June, jumped out to an early lead. Ole Miss, not to be outdone, closed the gap on Day 4 when Ole Miss alum and Realtree 365 host Tyler Jordan bought 900 jiggly shooters for the Rebel faithful.
It's a horse race now! @Realtree @TylerJordan and the crew with a quick 900 Jello Shot Order! Lotta night left folks…lotta night and a lott fight! #CWS2022 #CWSS #RoccosOmaha pic.twitter.com/Cm63YPZ6Pe
— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 20, 2022
But Mississippi isn’t the only school with high-profile boosters with camouflage money. Roughly 20 minutes later, Banded Brands Hunting Gear decided to make the folks at Realtree look like a bunch of poors.
Not to be outdone @BandedBrands decide to run another 1000 jello shots out to the Arkansas faithful. Not only that but he tipped the crew a extremely generous amount for carrying that many cases out. Absolutely great guy and awesome company. #CWS2022 #CWSS #RoccosOmaha pic.twitter.com/9Z1TvclH19
— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 20, 2022
What does this mean? Well first, lol the rest of the SEC couldn’t let Mississippi State have the record for even a full year. Second, two different apparel companies are about to get expense reports for more than $4,000 of gelatin. And third, it means Rocco’s has made at least $46,003.50 from Arkansas and Ole Miss’s Jell-O shot orders alone.
It also means they probably aren’t as drunk as you’d expect, given the combination of SEC booze tolerance and the fact these pre-packaged shots only clock in at 13 percent alcohol by volume and it’d take three of them to equal a regular shot of 80 proof booze.
At the same time, Rocco’s patrons are on pace to buy one shot for each of the 24,000 patrons that fit inside Charles Schwab Field before the CWS Finals even begins. That’s not a ton of booze, but it is a concerning about of sugar.
That’s not important this week. Each quivering shot sucked down in Omaha is bigger than a single customer. They’re all done in service of a larger cause; proving your fans are better at paying too much for bad drinks than anyone else.