These Blue Jays fans 'left feeling full in every way' after eating 245 hot dogs this season
Jody Matheson and Ryan Rushton were invited to throw the first pitch at Tuesday’s game
Jody Matheson set a personal record on Tuesday, as the Toronto Blue Jays played the New York Yankees in Toronto. But it wasn't with a big hit, or a record amount of strikeouts.
Matheson ate his 105th hot dog of the season.
"It was a difficult last dog of the season. But it's been a fantastic run," the Jays fan told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
"It was an emotional night to kind of finish off a season. I left feeling full in every way possible."
Matheson and his friend Ryan Rushton, who both grew up in Brantford, Ont., are the self-proclaimed Loonie Dog Kings, and they wear the big hot dog outfits to match the title.
Every Tuesday Jays game, concessions at the Rogers Centre sells hot dogs for just a dollar each.
This season the Jays hosted 11 such nights, and according to the team, it was a record-breaking year for the promotion. Fans chowed down on 693,865 hot dogs, an increase of over 200,000 than in 2022.
Matheson and Rushton ate a combined 245 hot dogs, with Rushton eating 140 alone.
"Ryan has beat me out of the water every week," said Matheson.
They've been featured on the video board and the television broadcast frequently. This past Tuesday they were recognized for their enthusiasm and enduring appetites by being given the honour of throwing out the first pitch.
Final dogs
As the two prepared to throw the first pitch for Tuesday's game, Matheson and Rushton were presented with another challenge: Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson asked how many hot dogs they planned on eating together.
"We sort of shrugged and said, 'probably about 25.' That's been sort of our average this year," said Rushton.
Swanson had a higher expectations for the duo. He challenged them to eat 31 hot dogs, which is one more than their previous record.
The two hit that record, and received praise from Swanson for the effort on Instagram.
How it started
The tradition of $1 hot dogs at Jays games started in 2019. At first, it was just for the first Tuesday home game each month. But the organization expanded it to every Tuesday home game in 2022.
Matheson and Rushton's path to notoriety began at the end of that season. Matheson said his children were going to a game, and he asked if he could join.
"I got the the brush off of, 'Dad, you're going to embarrass us now,'" said Matheson.
So he bought a couple hot dog outfits and asked Rushton to join him for the game.
"We went in, wore the suits, figured we'd get on the Jumbotron, the kids would be up in the 500 section, they'd see us, they'd say, Is that just my dad? And that would be the end of the joke," Matheson recalled.
But the two became popular with the crowd, and were frequently shown on TV during the games, so the duo kept going with it into the 2023 season.
Eat early, eat often
Rushton says there are a few tricks to reaching their high hot dog counts. It starts from when they wake up in the morning. They still get a breakfast in, then a light lunch.
The heavy lifting takes place before the game starts. The duo gets to the Rogers Centre early so they can get to their favourite section before getting to work.
"You pack away as many as you can early because the lines are short. And then it also just allows you to, you know, relax a little bit more through the game," said Rushton.
"So there's times that we will be like 80-per-cent done by the time the game starts. And then we just sort of slow it down and pace ourselves through the game."
But will the star hot dog eaters be ready for the Blue Jays' 2024 season? Matheson says that depends.
"We'll be ready to report, pending physicals."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Interviews produced by Sarah Jackson
