It was a moment that only happens during Bowl season.
The Louisville Cardinals defeated Toledo 27-22 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday. The presenting sponsor of that game was Bush’s Beans, meaning Louisville’s prize after a hard-fought win was a hearty bowl of beans out of a trophy as part of the post-game ceremony.
The absurd, yet hilarious moment, was only added to by the fact that a mascot – a giant can of Bush’s Beans – stood behind ESPN sideline reporter Ashley Stroehlein during the ceremony and then several Cardinals players dug into the giant vat of beans right before the cameras.
To top it all off, actor Keegan-Michael Key presented the bowl to the players.
“Hey, we’re supposed to eat these?” Cardinals defensive lineman Clev Lubin asked after dunking a spoon into the giant bowl of beans.
During an interview with ESPN during the game, Key had said that he was “very much looking forward to” presenting the bean-filled trophy to the winning team.
“The whole feeling, there’s this kind of beautiful big bean energy love that’s happening in the stadium today,” Key said. “It’s been fantastic. It’s everything I wanted it to be.”
Bush’s Beans had signed on to be the title sponsor in November and on Tuesday, the company handed out a complimentary ticket and a beans bucket hat to the first 2,000 fans who brought a can of the company’s beans to FAU Stadium, where the game was taking place.
Louisville had taken a 7-3 lead going into halftime and extended that to 21-3 as they continued into the final quarter of the game, but Toledo kept it close with a touchdown with a little more than 10 minutes to play.
A Toledo field goal made it even tighter and eventually cut it to a five-point game with just under 2:30 left, but Louisville managed to keep them off the board the rest of the game.
That set the stage for the unique celebration that really put the bowl in Bowl season.
