America’s Most Unique New Year’s Drop is in Idaho and It’s NOT the Potato

When it comes to sports, stats nerds track everything. The College Football Playoff has a page dedicated to the length of all of the games played under their system from 2015 when Ohio State stunned Oregon 42-20 and 2024 when Michigan downed Washington 34-13. 

The shortest game was the championship game between Georgia and TCU on January 9, 2023. That game lasted three hours, eleven minutes. The longest game was the final between Clemson and Alabama in 2017. It lasted four hours, eight minutes. The reason we tell you this? Because with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff, there will probably still be time for Broncos fans watching the Fiesta Bowl from home to make it to a New Year’s Eve celebration. 

READ MORE: Boise's 10 Snowiest Winters on Record Revealed 

In our opinion, one of the most unique NYE drops in America happens in Idaho and it’s NOT the Idaho Potato Drop. 

Don’t get us wrong. The Idaho Potato Drop is a great community tradition and it’s VERY cool to see that it landed at #2 on the USA Today’s “10 Best” list of best New Year’s Eve Drops in the US. The only drop to out rank the Idaho tradition? A ball drop, but not THE ball drop in Times Square. It’s a celebration in Ludington, Michigan that drops a ball wrapped in thousands of flashing lights. 

Idaho’s Other Drop is Highly Underrated

Idaho really could put two drops on the list. The other drop that deserves a nod happens in the small town of Rupert where they drop a Sugar Beet from a crane. According to Idaho News 6, the idea was the brainchild of two local business owners. Nicknamed “Crystal,” the very cool looking tribute to one of Idaho’s most famous crops towers 22 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Unlike the Potato Drop, the sugar beet has looked incredible from its very first year. (Sorry, Potato Drop…the first few years where the potato was dropped vertically from the crane, it looked like something else.)

This year’s Sugar Beet Drop celebration on Rupert Square begins at 7:00 p.m. with free ice skating, photo booths and a “kids countdown” at 9:00 p.m. That kid’s countdown includes a faux countdown so kids can enjoy the magic of New Year’s Eve and still get to bed by a decent hour.

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The celebration continues from 10 p.m. - midnight, with the beet drop, fireworks and confetti cannon to wrap up the evening. The event includes seven live music performances, including this year’s headliner the Aaron Ball Band. 

Did You Know That Idaho Has ANOTHER NYE Drop?

Kuna entered the conversation by holding their first “Gem Drop” on December 31, 2023. The super sparkly gem will return to ring in 2025. The free event begins at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31 at 9 p.m. and will include food vendors, live DJ, photo booth and a pyrotechnic display. For more on the event, click HERE.