Life is good once again.

Spring in State College is springing cold as hell, and Penn State baseball is back at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Perhaps the best part of a new season of athletics in Happy Valley isn’t the home runs or ballpark brews but rather the hot dogs.

Every Tuesday for the remainder of the regular season, Penn State baseball will host Dollar Dog Night, featuring $1 glizzies at the diamond.

The folks here at Onward State will never turn down an opportunity for a low-fund frank and naturally made their way to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to partake in the opening ceremonies of this season’s discount wiener festivities.

In an attempt to down as many dogs as possible or just hang out with friends, our staff reflected on their experiences at Tuesday’s Dollar Dog Night.

Abby Neely

I had four dogs, which was honestly easier than I expected. It was my first Dollar Dog Night, so I walked in thinking I would maybe eat two, but the pure fact that they were only a dollar, and that I had a friend funding my dog intake for the night, made me feel like I didn’t have a choice but to eat more.

I started with only two, and after I sat for a little while, I decided I could stomach a couple more. When I went to get my second two, they at first told me they were all out and to come back, but I saw a few other registers handing them out. At that point, I got right back in line. Unfortunately, I still had to stand there for a couple of minutes waiting, but it just gave me more time to digest the first pair.

To be fully honest, seeing people walk away from the concessions with handfuls of hotdogs was more entertaining than the baseball game itself. I had an enjoyable time, but it was definitely colder than I hoped it would be. I will have a much better time in the coming weeks as the weather gets warmer.

Aidan Conrad

It’s finally back! I was able to gobble seven glizzies in the first two innings and decided to call it quits after that. Nature is healing with Dollar Dog Night back at Medlar, and hopefully, there’s warmer weather coming soon.

Ally Eaton

Despite the cold, I entered the gates of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on Tuesday evening ready for a good time. Like most eager fans and staffers, I hopped in line upon my entry to the gates of Low-Fund-Frank-Landia.

My first round consisted of two dogs washed down with some crisp ice water in between. These dogs were plain as can be, crinkled and smushed under the warm blanket of a piece of foil. I am a condiment hater to my core. No ketchup, no mustard, no relish. Nothing. Now, I feel that it is important for me to also add: I’m not the world’s biggest hot dog fan. Sure, by the campfire or at your traditional ballgame, I’m all in, but I’ve never exceeded the two dog limit. I certainly didn’t anticipate that being in the cards for me at the present moment. I sat back and enjoyed(?) watching my friends down an absurd amount of hot dogs and the related entertainment that came with. That was until it was announced a TikTok was being made.

Under the coaxing of none other than managing editor Keeley Lamm, I reluctantly ventured up to the concession stand for my third hot dog. Did I want another hot dog? Hell no. The rock was already forming in my stomach from my first two, but I will never turn down a TikTok.

As I made my way through the hungry mob of people, I got to the front of the line to discover they were momentarily out of hot dogs. Tragedy. My next move was to pivot over to a neighboring line, and boy, was I in luck. They let me place my order, and then I was forced to wait in line for the fresh batch to make its way into my possession. While this dog was not delivered in foil, it was handed to me with a delicacy like no other from the kind concession worker.

The third dog was a struggle, as you can imagine. The wind was getting colder, and with that, I give you this recommendation: lukewarm $1 hot dogs are not the move. I am no quitter, so I stomached the third dog and frankly entered a trance. There was a lot of mystery meat floating around in my stomach, so I naturally washed it down with a singular blue Sour Patch Kid. With my stomach churning, and the regret seeping in, I realized I was late for my ECON 102 review session and reluctantly left my dear friends to continue in their valiant efforts. I am excited to continue my Tuesday Dollar Dog delights for the sake of the social experience.

Ashley Connington

I love Dollar Dog Night. I may have only had two hot dogs, but they got cold super quickly, and cold hot dogs are not a vibe, so it wasn’t really worth my effort this time. I was more there to enjoy the vibes of Dollar Dog Night, and I easily did. Even though it was so cold we were shaking by the end, it was a super fun time, and I’ll be making many more appearances. Plus, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into catching a free t-shirt (which I’ll be able to wear as soon as I wash my blood out)!

Ben Rosenbaum

My first Dollar Dog Night was an awesome experience! Although the temperatures were low, the vibes were high at Medlar! I had a great time getting to know my Onward State staff members better and to see everyone come out to support the baseball team. With this being my first Dollar Dog Night, I made the mistake of eating dinner at the dining hall and not preparing myself, so I didn’t have as many hot dogs as my friends. However, I look forward to hopefully a warmer outing next Tuesday and getting to enjoy hot dogs, baseball, and spending time with my fellow staff members!

CJ Doebler

I only had a limited amount of time at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park Tuesday night, but I was determined to make the most of it. If Joey Chestnut can put down 75 dogs in 10 minutes, surely I could house nine in 45, right?

Wrong. I only grabbed two dogs my first trip to the concession stand and both went down like a breeze. I was feeling good and decided to grab four glizzies on my next trip to the grill. Dogs number three and four also went down easy, but my stomach started to feel heavy.

Regardless, I pushed on and finished six hot dogs in about 20 minutes. I took a five-minute break before waddling to the stand to order my final three dogs. I hesitated before starting in on dog No. 7, but with my stomach growing more upset by the minute, I knew it was now or never. Somehow, I completed dog No. 7 and had only 10 minutes to finish my last two dogs. Only three bites in to dog No. 8, my time ran out. In hindsight, it was probably a good thing as an intense thirst and unpleasant feeling in my stomach is still around over 2.5 hours after taking my last bite.

However, I will be back, and I will succeed.

CJ Gill

You go to Dollar Dog Night for the atmosphere and entertainment — not the quality of the glizzies. That was definitely true on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the vibes weren’t the best with the bad weather in Stage College, but nothing beats baseball games with your closest friends. The hot dogs themselves were below average to say the least. The bun to meat ratio was very poor and some of the dogs were overcooked, too. After four glizzies, I had enough. There was no point in torturing myself anymore. Hopefully the dogs and weather get better before next Tuesday.

Collin Ward

I was told before going that eating nine hotdogs is harder than it looks, but when I got to the ballpark, saw how small each dog looked, and heard the rumble in my stomach, I felt like nine dogs were in play. Before the second inning had begun, I had four down and was buying more. Surely, I could do five more in the next eight innings… turns out I couldn’t. By the fifth dog, a weird metallic taste started forming in my mouth. One staffer described it as eating a soft battery, and he couldn’t have been more right. By the time I got to my sixth hotdog, it was only the third inning, but I had no choice but to tap out.

Dollar Dog Night: 1
Collin: 0

I will be back.

Cooper Cazares

What a war. What a triumph. I’m not going to lie to you, I knew I could do it, but at what cost?

The first four dogs couldn’t have been easier. They were warm and effortless to put down in the cold weather.

I immediately headed back up to the concourse for the next four, full of confidence that nine dogs were going to be an easy feat. I promptly hit a wall. The weather got colder, and the dogs started to grow stale in my hands. Dogs five and six were hard to put down compared to the rest. A knot in my stomach had begun to form, and I was relying on my trusty water to get me through.

Dogs seven and eight were torture. By now, they were hard and tasteless. The meaty freshness had faded into a metallic cylinder wrapped in cold bread. My love for hot dogs was slowly diminishing as I rounded the home stretch.

After a great deal of thought, I brought myself to the concourse one last time and ordered that last singular dog. My vision was blurry and my stomach was wrenching, but I couldn’t back down now. I was in too deep. Each bite nearly made me tear up, and shapes of all kinds were coming in and out of my vision as the seventh inning stretch sounded over the loud speakers. As the song ended, with only a swig of water left, the last dog was down.

The adventure had just begun as I began my run home in an idiotic attempt to burn some of the calories. Fast forward through some graphic descriptions, and I can confirm that I probably ended the evening in a caloric deficit. To end my reflection, I want to quote the great Ron Swanson: “When I eat, it’s the food that’s scared.”

Jess Farhat

I can’t even begin to explain what happened… In one sitting, I usually consume a total of two hot dogs, but tonight, I thought I’d challenge myself and eat as much as I could (I tapped out after four).

The first two hot dogs were consumed during the first inning, and it was smooth sailing. Washing them down with some water, I was confident with my pacing. I took a break during the second inning, then went back for my third dog during the third inning. It took a lot for me to finish that hot dog, but I knew I couldn’t stop at three. I went back for my fourth and final dog during the fifth inning. That thing took me out. I had such a hard time trying to finish it that I almost caved and gave it to my friend, but I didn’t.

By the end of the night, I was questioning my sanity. I’m pretty sure I ended up tipping the concession stand $10 for four hot dogs throughout the night, but that is not the point. Even though the Nittany Lions lost, I still felt like a winner taking on my four hot dogs (and keeping them down).

I will say, the weather was terrible. My fingers and toes were numb by the bottom of the third inning, and I wanted to go home. When I think of eating hot dogs at a ball park, I think of a clear sky and warm weather. Not whatever today was. Every decision I have ever made came down to me sitting in a chair at a Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, contemplating if I could handle a fifth hot dog. All in all, a total of four hot dogs sounds pathetic, but I’ll be back when the weather is over 40 degrees and my hands won’t fall off. Just you wait.

Joe Lister

My dollar dog experience was short and poignant. I arrived after watching football practice, ate four hot dogs in one inning, ate another 1.5 in the next inning, and then left again for football practice. I felt awful. I was worried I was going to throw up chunks of glizzy while talking to James Franklin, but thankfully, I avoided that catastrophe. Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch a full game in the future and force more meat down my gullet.

Keeley Lamm

The hot dog-shaped hole in my heart was filled Tuesday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

I’ve been waiting for Dollar Dog Night to return ever since I housed nine glizzies in August following a challenge from Joe Putnam, so the crisp March conditions weren’t going to stop me from making an appearance at the ballpark.

I cleared four franks with ease upon my arrival. This season’s bun decision? Wonderful improvement from last season. Thanks, Penn State Athletics.

Then, I paused after glizzy No. 4 to share a requested ~hot dog moment~ with Onward State staffer and Penn State baseball data analyst Sarah Lynn DeCarlo.

Clearly, I didn’t learn my lesson from my two previous Dollar Dog Night outings: never slow down. This is where I began to crumble.

My two remaining aluminum foil-wrapped weenies were hard to tackle, and it was a labor of love to get them down the gullet. Hot dog No. 6 was where I tapped out, but I was proud to emerge victorious in the Glizzy Girl category.

There is truly nothing like the Dollar Dog Night experience, and I relish in the fact I get to gobble glizzies and meat up with my friends every Tuesday at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

@compostbanana

Happy DOLLA DOG Night #pennstate #pennstatebaseball #dollardog #dollardognight #onwardstate #awesome #gritty

♬ Star Spangled (Bass Boosted) – SNC

Michael Siroty

My first Dollar Dog Night was a fun one, but I was not able to put down nine hot dogs. To be honest, I didn’t really try, and was more there to enjoy the vibes. As soon as I arrived, I got four hot dogs, all of which went down easily.

Then, I switched over to some candy for a couple innings before grabbing two more hot dogs. I ate one with ease while waiting for my friends to get their hot dogs, but the sixth one posed a slight challenge. Still, I ate six without any consequences, and I enjoyed my evening at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. 

Mikey DeAngelis

Last fall, at the very beginning of the semester, I attended a State College Spikes Dollar Dog Night and completed the nine hot dogs in nine innings challenge. After putting my arteries through the wringer less than one year ago, I decided to take it easy tonight. I spent one, crisp Abraham Lincoln (metaphorically, of course. The ballpark is cashless) to buy myself five tasteless, squished hot dogs. It was glorious. I will be back for more Dollar Dog Nights as long as I’m a student here.