Hello, gridiron purists and tailgaters alike, and welcome to Lincoln, Nebraska, where college football is king, queen, and the entire royal court. Yes, today the beans are spending a beautiful Saturday in Memorial Stadium, the home field for the U of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. The "Huskers", as the locals call them, are more than any ordinary team around here -- they're a passion that rivals just about anything else. Fans here start drooling over the prospect of the fall season long about April, and their fervor doesn't let up until well after the bowl games are over. The beans have a hard time understanding such dedication over a sports team, but they do respect it. After all, out there somewhere has to be someone with that much passion about black beans. Right? Right? Anyone?

So here we are, inside, in our seats, and literally blown away by the sea of Husker red in the stands. Very true fact: On game days, the 74,000-seat Memorial Stadium becomes Nebraska's third-largest city, and they've managed to sell out every single home game for the past 41 years. Impressive, no? But the Huskers have enough of a winning record over the years to keep the fans coming back, so why not? They've won 5 national championships and 43 conference championships. They've produced 3 Heisman Trophy winners (including the guy below), 76 All-Americans, and 8 Outland Trophy winners. The beans are obviously impressed by their "skilz", but have they ever been packed in a can for 10 years of world traveling fun? Ha. Touchdown for the frijoles!

Now, what's a football game without a rousing musical number or two from the school band? Exactly! So here BATW Ambassador Ron and the beans pay tribute to the school's marching band, which has the incredible ability to make human formations of Go BIG RED, all while playing "Tequila". The beans always wanted to play an instrument in a college band, but the "music" they tend to make is generally considered impolite, so instead they'll sit in the bleachers and enjoy the tunes from the sidelines.

So who is your favorite football player? For the beans, that's an easy question -- anyone who poses with them! So for today, the beans have the great honor to hang out with not just any player, but a true collegiate football superstar. Hold onto your labels kids, because the beans are actually being held by none other than former Husker quarterback and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch! How cool is that??? Eric had a 35-6 career record as a starting QB for the Huskers, and ranks 4th all time in college football history in rushing among quarterbacks, with 3,434 career yards. On top of all that, he's a pretty nice guy, and the beans were glad to meet him. Now, if he'd only "loan" the frijoles one of those official game-worn jerseys that they begged endlessly for, they'd be pals for life...

Special thanks again to Eric for holding the beans, and not passing them 70 yards downfield to an open wide receiver!