Friendship brings Nebraska hoops, comedian together

The first tweet from Nebraska's Doc Sadler came last Friday, and, right from the start, I thought it was strange.

"Headed to San Diego with Larry the Cable Guy," it read. "Stay tuned."

OK.

"Great show in San Diego," Sadler later tweeted. "Larry put them in the aisle."

What?

Larry the Cable Guy has a one-man entourage for two shows -- Doc Sadler. (Getty Images)

"On to the next show in Oklahoma City ... Having a blast," read the next tweet, and by then I had it figured out. Given the clues and my ability to piece them together, I was pretty sure I was reading the quick thoughts of a college basketball coach on the road with that funny man from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. And this isn't something you see every day.

"[Larry the Cable Guy] was out at [Nebraska's] football practice about two weeks ago, and I said, 'Hey, when are you going out to do a show again?'" Sadler told me by phone. "He said he was leaving Friday to do two shows.' And then he said, 'If you want to go, get on the plane and let's go.' So I got done with practice at about 4:30 last Friday, and we got on the plane at 5."

And just like that, Doc Sadler was part of Larry the Cable Guy's traveling party.

They took a private plane to California for a show.

Then they flew to Oklahoma for another.

"There's not a big entourage with him," Sadler said. "This weekend, I was the entourage."

I don't know if you like Larry the Cable Guy, but you've almost certainly heard of him. His real name is Daniel Whitney, he's from a small town in Nebraska, and he's developed a character that's a hit in Middle America, and everywhere else, really. He's released five albums; all five have been certified gold. When his Git-R-Done special aired one Sunday on Comedy Central, it gave the network its second largest ratings in Sunday night history.

Translation: This dude is famous.

And successful.

And by most accounts, a pretty reasonable human.

When Bob Simon profiled Larry the Cable Guy for 60 Minutes, Simon described him this way: "Unlike many comedians the 60 Minutes team has met, Larry is not angry, he's not depressed, he's not paranoid. He's a hard-working, supremely confident, happy-go-lucky funnyman."

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Far as basketball coaches go, Doc Sadler is similar. So it's simple to see how these two hit it off, and the pairing really isn't as odd as it is perfect. Sadler now tunes-up for the start of classes by touring with Larry the Cable Guy, and Larry the Cable Guy spends part of his winters watching Nebraska basketball.

He goes to games.

He goes to practices.

Poll Would you pay to see Larry the Cable Guy? 45% Yes: He's hilarious   55% No: I'd rather do my taxes   Total Votes: 2580

He speaks to the team, and, yes, he has a story that translates.

"When you get a chance to be around him and touch him, what you realize is that he's just a normal guy who's worked his tail off to get where he's at," Sadler said. "And that's the story I try to tell my team, and that's the story he tells them. He didn't get where he's at without working hard. He's just from a little-bitty old town here in Nebraska. So everybody can look at that situation and say, 'If that guy can do this, why can't I?'"

Will the message translate to a Big 12 title?

Probably not, honestly.

I mean, Kansas still has Cole Aldrich, Texas still has Damion James, Oklahoma still has Willie Warren. Nebraska doesn't have anybody of that caliber, and the program already lost Christopher Niemann for the season thanks to a torn ACL. So no, this isn't likely to be the year the Cornhuskers battle for a championship. But you tell me, what's more unlikely: Nebraska basketball one day becoming relevant in the Big 12 or a guy with no sleeves from a small town in Nebraska becoming one of the most successful stand-up comedians in the world?

Placed in that context, nothing seems impossible.

So now all Sadler has to do (please forgive me for this) is Git-R-Done.