Why is Johnsonville Sausage sponsoring Men's Beach Volleyball?

Why is Johnsonville Sausage sponsoring the Men's Beach Volleyball Championships? What does sausage have to with Men's Volleyball…. (okay, we'll stop there). During NBC's coverage of the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) Beach Volleyball World Championships on July 5th 2009, Johnsonville Sausage became one of the biggest distractions during the tournament. There were Johnsonville Sausage "key players", The Johnsonville Sausage "big plays", everything was about sausage. Johnsonville was given a higher visibility than other sponsors which included Nike Apparel, Crocs Shoes, and Bud Light. Crocs, as a sponsor, make sense because people wear crocs to the beach. Nike, as a sponsor, makes sense because great athletes wear Nike. Do people eat sausages on the beach?
This isn't the first time that Johnsonville agreed to an interesting sponsorship deal. They recently became the #1 sponsor of the men's American soccer team, DC United. Their new website cleverly states: "Sausage is a grill's best friend". Maybe this will start a trend in the marketing industry; maybe Borders Melon Company will sponsor women's basketball. Maybe Detrol LA (overactive bladder medication) will sponsor Olympic swimming. This can be seen as a great marketing idea, or a poor waste of money. Personally, I think it's a little bit of both.