RURAL NORTH DAKOTA JUST QUIETLY WALKED INTO THE SUPER BOWL — AND MOST PEOPLE MISSED WHY IT MATTERED. Tucked between the Budweiser Clydesdales and the slow-motion pours, a fourth-generation farmer from Coleharbor suddenly appeared on the biggest advertising stage in America, not as a celebrity or stunt, but as a thank-you to the people behind the barley and the soil, turning a glossy Super Bowl moment into something unexpectedly personal as Budweiser marked 150 years and chose to spotlight the hands that helped build it.

COLEHARBOR, N.D. — Rural North Dakota is about to be represented at the Super Bowl.

But in this case, not on the field. During the commercial breaks.

“Whenever you think about Super Bowl commercials, Budweiser always comes up as one of the most iconic commercials,” said Brian Fransen, a farmer from Coleharbor, N.D.

Fransen is right. The Budweiser Clydesdales have become synonymous with Super Bowl Sunday, and they return in a new ad spot on Sunday.

And tucked between shots of that famous horse and slow-motion beer pours, there is Fransen.

“What better icon than a Clydesdale, a bald eagle and a farmer who literally works with this American soil to make his living?” Fransen said.

Fransen is a fourth-generation farmer from Coleharbor in western North Dakota.

“When I got asked, I was sitting out in the truck and we were combining harvesting, so total shock. But, and I think that’s how they all kind of took it, too, as ‘Holy smokes,’ ” Fransen said.

Fransen’s family has been growing barley for Budweiser for years.

And Budweiser’s head of marketing said including Fransen was a way of saying thank you to farmers on the company’s 150th anniversary.

“Something like that doesn’t come along really at all, so it’s going to be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. And it was a huge honor, and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Fransen said.

Budweiser flew Fransen to Los Angeles to film the commercial. He says despite getting a taste of the big screen, he plans to stick with farming.