The Majesty of the Foster Farms Bowl
Finally.
For many Nebraska fans today is a day of disappointment. A day of concern about the future of a program whose 5-7 team is playing in a bowl game the day after Christmas. But for me, today is a day of great celebration. You see, ever since I was a child, my favorite bowl game has always been the Foster Farms Bowl.
I don't know if it was the proximity to Christmas or my love of chicken, but I have always held the Foster Farms Bowl in the highest esteem. It probably stems from my admiration of Eugene Foster, the industry pioneer that took Foster Farms from a small Modesto family farm and built it into the bowl-sponsoring company it is today.
I can remember as a child I would beg my parents to let me stay up to watch the game. You see, we wintered in Pittsburgh and kickoff was not until 9:15. It just seemed cruel to spend the afternoon enjoying the Foster Farms Poultry Parade only to be sent to bed before kickoff.
It seems strange now to think that at one time folks ridiculed the Foster Farms Poultry Parade for being the only parade in America where every float was made from chicken parts. Sure, in the early years it was just a lot of chicken feathers, but once Hanscomb Plumbing began grinding and dying beaks the parade transformed into nothing short of majestic.
Who can forget Sweet Johnny Shumpert's "Good Candy" float?
So you can imagine, as a Husker fan, how difficult it was for me in the 90's. All anyone wanted to talk about was this national championship game or that national championship game (there were so many). I would just sit quietly and pine for the day when my team would get an invite to that most chanticleer of all bowl games - the Foster Farms Bowl.
So here I sit, as excited as anyone can be about the Foster Farms Bowl. I can't wait for the pre-game coverage showing how excited everyone is in whatever town the game is in. I can almost see the ceremonial pre-game chicken flyover. And those Foster Farms commercials!! What will they think of this year?!
Sure, the venue has changed over the years, but the rich tradition is a constant. The game is being held in Levi Stadium this year, home of Super Bowl 50. It boasts the most vegan stadium menu in America which seems just perfect for a bowl game sponsored by an industrial chicken processing company.
I imagine the only team more excited to be here than 5-7 Nebraska is 8-4 UCLA. What a treat for them! I'm sure their fans will show up like they always do because the loyalty of southern California sports fans is legendary. I even heard something like 35,000 UCLA fans are going to dress up like empty stadium seats just to confuse the Huskers!
So, while many may be underwhelmed at our bowl fate this year, I will get to share this memory with my son. He is only three, but it would be my Christmas wish that someday he will tell the story of his first Foster Farms Bowl. A Nebraska victory.
GBR!
Can't catch what you can't see!