Two Toronto Blue Jays fans dressed up as hot dogs and tallied their frankfurter count
Loonie Dogs Night is back at the Rogers Centre for the 2022 season, and two fans took their love of ballpark hot dogs to new levels on Tuesday night, appearing at the Toronto Blue Jays game in costume as giant frankfurters.
The hot dog-loving pair appeared in multiple cameos during the Jays’ Tuesday evening home game versus the Chicago Cubs, with each appearance showing a rising tally of hot dogs consumed by the two friends.
#NextLevel commitment to the @BlueJays Loonie Dogs Night. 🌭⚾️ pic.twitter.com/9MaDqihm75
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 31, 2022
Friends Ryan Rushton and Jody Matheson took their love of hot dogs to new heights with a plan to conquer Loonie Dogs Night, achieving a glimmer of fame and recognition from sports media in the process. They even donned their costumes on the GO train ride to the game.
@bluejays Loonie dogs really should be renamed to Loonie Wolves… They always come in packs. #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/QRCCZI2yys
— Jody (@Jodster99) August 30, 2022
Once at the game, the duo's loonie dog dedication landed them shoutouts from broadcasters Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez, who openly discussed the ever-increasing tally of hot dogs eaten.
@DShulman_ESPN heard you and Buck were talking about us. Yes, we are at 20 hot dogs! @BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/h1dhKCkv0q
— Ryan Rushton (@rushtonrj) August 31, 2022
In the end, the two ate a staggering 30 hotdogs between them in just seven innings of baseball, before the sheer quantity of processed meat forced the pair to call it quits.
Finally got to hear the audio on this... The tally was indeed for the two of us. Final count was 30 between the two of us. We had to stop in the 7th, we just couldn't do any more.
— Ryan Rushton (@rushtonrj) August 31, 2022
Possibly the most impressive part is that they remained standing in the WestJet Flight Deck area with all of that meat working its way through their systems.
@DShulman_ESPN my buddy and I are looking at you and Buck... Wanna send us some hot dogs? You know where to find us. #LoonieDogsNight #NextLevel #WestJetFlightDeck pic.twitter.com/sVAi0EvhJB
— Ryan Rushton (@rushtonrj) August 30, 2022
Despite the mass consumption, the hot dog-costumed friends were forced to buy their vast quantity of snacks in smaller batches due to the stadium policy limiting customers to four loonie dogs per concession visit.
Matheson tells blogTO that "the genesis of the costume idea started as an elaborate dad joke."
"My kids were taking some friends from the UK to their first Blue Jays game. I've always liked the Cubs as a National League team, and it was a Tuesday, so I started thinking it would be fun to just surprise the kids, show up at the game in a hot dog costume, eat copious amounts of loonie dogs, hope to get on the JumboTron, and if my kids see it, say, 'Is that... my Dad?!?'"
"When I asked Ryan if he wanted to join me, he was unsure his wife would get the night off from work to watch their kids," he continued. "Then I sent him a message with the picture of the costumes I had ordered off Amazon. Ryan's wife immediately booked the night off, as long as Ryan was 'going to look like an idiot.'"
"Earlier in the season, Ryan and I were mocked by friends when we went to a Loonie Dog night after only eating 7 hotdogs each. Knowing we had this whole costume thing going, we decided to keep score," said Matheson.
"It should have been a competition between us, but we decided on a total tally."
Though the duo was unable to secure a proper flip tally scoreboard on such short notice, Rogers Centre staff assisted in their venture, and together they figured out a makeshift hot dog wrapper scoresheet.
The final tally was 30 hot dogs: 12 for Jody; 18 for Ryan.
Matheson says that "12 hours later, we can still taste the hotdogs. Diet starts today... at least until the next Loonie Dogs night."
Ryan and Jody weren't the only ones attempting to "win" at loonie dogs on Tuesday night, as sports reporter Chris Johnston managed to scarf down seven of the one-dollar dogs.
Ryan Rushton
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