Jenison ‘16 graduate, Jake Sievers, becomes Outback bowl mascot

Jake Sievers, a 2016 Jenison High School graduate, lands his dream job after a recent push on Twitter, campaigning to become the Blooming’ Onion mascot in the 2020 Outback Bowl. Jake tweeted at Outback Steak House every single day in 2019, sending out clever jokes and pictures to try to catch the attention of the business. Jake attended Jenison his whole life and graduated in 2016. Jake continued his education at Hillsdale College and also gained an internship in New York City with Barstool sports. Jake, with an already impressive resume post-Jenison, looks to add more with this achievement. A Jenison graduate aims be on live national television at the Outback this upcoming year. Where did this all come from?

Jake first thought of his dream while watching the 2019 Outback bowl with his mother on New Years (WoodTV, 2019). 

“I wanna be that guy” Jake said as he watched the Bloomin’ Onion mascot run around on TV.

Jake brought his campaign to twitter, making a commitment to tweet at Outback every day until he became the bloomin’ onion. Jake tweeted at Outback and received no feedback from them. Even tweeting out a meme about him ignored by Outback.

Jake tweeted at Outback for a couple of months until Outback noticed him, and started dropping him likes, comments, and hints showing him they like what he’s doing. To Jake, this was only the beginning. He did not back down until they told him he was the blooming’ onion. Jake went on and continued to tweet every single day.

Jake continued to push the limits and even made a dedicated twitter called ‘Onion Watch’. Jake gained the support of his fans following him through this process and the page grew fast. After a couple weeks of tweeting, Jake got a new follower, Outback themselves.

This was a turning point for Jake. He knew that his dream was very possible, and he was very close to the finish line. Jake still continued to pour on the hilarious tweets.

On September 12, Jake received a notification from Outback’s twitter giving him a challenge. If Jake made an entertaining video and got 10,000 retweets, the job was his. Jake did not disappoint, Jake received over 5,000 retweets in the first couple days, gaining support from many famous people around the world.

In the end, Jake received 7,134 retweets in one week, and Outback, even though not receiving all 10,000 named him the bloomin’ onion mascot for the 2020 Outback Bowl, on January 1.

As I spoke to Jake he spoke to the Jenison student body,

“To all the graduating seniors, I would say follow whatever you’re passionate about. I left Jenison High School without any clue to what I was going to major in, but had taken basically every science class Jenison has to offer. Now, I’m graduating with a major in marketing and a minor in journalism. Stop trying to conform to the bounds of society. As far as my situation, I saw something that looked like it would be fun, and I did everything in my possibility to make it come to fruition. Whatever you’re passionate about, whatever makes you tick, don’t let anyone tell you no.”