Wisconsin and Nebraska To Battle For "Freedom Trophy," Because Freedom
By Ty Duffy
#Badgers & #Huskers introduce Freedom Trophy: depicts each team's stadium, honors veterans http://t.co/KVIXC92Sdg pic.twitter.com/rpPqTT4N47
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 10, 2014
Nebraska and Wisconsin are not rivals. They share no border. They have played twice in the regular season, at the Big Ten’s behest, since 1975. The biggest point of contention is who wears Adidas red better. But, this is the B1G, so the Wisconsin-Nebraska game now features a trophy. The new division rivals will face off for the “Freedom Trophy.”
Why Freedom? Well, it has the same appeal for the B1G as it does for politicians. It’s vague and utterly unassailable. Who can quibble with “freedom” or honoring war veterans (or in this case honoring the honoring of war veterans)? This game is brought to you by the conference that hyphenated every single trophy to make sure no fan base was offended.
Could we at least get something distinctive? Like a bust of Mel Gibson’s head in Braveheart?
RELATED: Dear College Football, Stop Inventing Branded Rivalries