Napoleon Dynamite steals the courtside show! Jon Heder douses himself in tater tots as Alabama makes March Madness history
Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder made a courtside appearance at BYU and Alabama’s March Madness game last night – and surprised fans with an abundance of tater tots.
The iconic actor was front and center at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday, to support his fellow BYU’s star player, Richie Saunders.
He showed up with a tray filled with Ore-Ida’s tater tots – after the firm signed a sponsorship with BYU’s leading scorer, Saunders. The baller also happens to be the great-grandson of the frozen food company’s founder.
But Heder’s Utah alma mater failed to make waves in last night’s game – ultimately facing a crushing defeat against Alabama in the Sweet Sixteen round.
Not letting the loss get the better of him, the actor gave out fist-bumps to fans while holding up a paper plate filled to the brim with the potato treats – which is an homage to the movie that made him a household name.
The iconic actor was front and center at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday
Not letting the loss get the better of him, the actor gave out fist-bumps to fans while holding up a paper plate filled to the brim with his iconic tater tots
In the popular 2004 comedy, Jon, now 47, portrayed a bullied nerdy teen, who helped his friend Pedro, played by Efren Ramirez win the class presidency in their small town in southeastern Idaho.
During one of the notorious pop culture scenes, class bully Randy asked Napoleon to give him some of his tots that were stored in his pants’ thigh pocket, and when he declines, Randy aggressively squashes them with his foot.
To mark the film’s 20th anniversary last year, tater-tot-loving Napoleon joined the team at Ore-Ide to showcase his hilarious ‘tot-protecting pants.’
A clip of Heder at the basketball game went viral on social media – with fans of the cult classic stunned to see the iconic tots making a revival during March Madness.
One person wrote: ‘Unbelievable crossover event,’ as a second said: ‘More evidence God is real.’
Another added: ‘As a marketing professional – that is marketing money well-spent.’
While a third said: ‘This is the best thing that’s ever happened for Ore-Ida. Good on them for taking advantage!
A clip of Heder at the game went viral on social media – with fans of the cult classic stunned to see the iconic tots making a revival during March Madness
Heder doused himself in tater tots – paying homage to the cult classic that made him famous
Last night, Mark Sears led a historic 3-point barrage with 10-of-16 accuracy from deep, racking up 34 points to power No. 2 seed Alabama to a 113-88 victory over No. 6 seed BYU in the East Region Sweet 16 matchup.
Alabama (28-8) made 25 3-pointers on 51 attempts, breaking NCAA Tournament records with both marks. The Crimson Tide are looking for their second straight Final Four berth.
Sears added eight assists and came one 3-pointer shy of tying the individual tournament record. Aden Holloway joined in with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the arc.
Richie Saunders paced BYU (26-10) with 25 points and Egor Demin contributed 15 points and seven assists. The Cougars outscored the Crimson Tide 50-16 in the paint but went 6-for-30 (20 percent) on 3-point tries.
