Jimmy Kimmel on the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl: "If you can’t beat them, join them"

The Athletic

The inaugural Kimmel college football bowl game will air Saturday night on ABC, pitting Utah State vs. Oregon State. So, why did Kimmel decide to sponsor a bowl game (with his bosses' money)? "Well, I was hoping to do weight loss supplements, but Dr. Oz beat me to that," Kimmel joked to The Athletic. "I just think that it’s funny to force the sports media to say your name over and over, you know? I actually don’t know why we go along with using these corporate names. We’re not being paid to say Staples Center; Staples is not sending a check. But we do go along with it, and in a way, they’re using our platforms to get advertising, and it is kind of weird. And so I figured you know what? If you can’t beat them, join them." Kimmel adds: "I’ve always been tickled by college bowl games and how quickly we adapted to this idea that it was normal to say the Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl, or whatever corporate sponsor is attached to whatever game. This kid Jack Carey that worked here at the show, he said it would be great if you had a bowl named after you, and I agreed, but I didn’t think it was going to be something that would be possible. And I figured if even if it was possible, I would have to pay millions of dollars for it. But it turns out we just did it for free."