22 Hot Dogs and a Seahawks Miracle

If I was writing a headline for last nights miraculous first round playoff game between Seattle and Dallas, the headline would be:

“Seahawks Respond to Hot Dog Challenge with Win.”

As I was getting prepared for eating hot dogs and watching football yesterday afternoon I received an offer from my Brother-in-law Matt, whose family has season tickets, to go watch the game in person. Of course I was elated to have the opportunity to get in to the sold out game but I was also very determined to carry out my promise of eating a hot dog for every point that the Seahawks would score.

My first thought was that I would just buy hot dogs at the stadium as needed for each time the Hawks scored. But not only would this be costly but it would also be very distracting to the game. I decided to make a batch of hot dogs to bring with me to the game to get started and if I ran out I would buy more. I made 24 Nathan’s hot dogs but I gave away one to Matt and one to my roommate, Tim, leaving me with 22.

22 would turn out to be a very serendipitous number.

The game began with a blast, the crowd in Seattle was LOUD.

I wrapped each hot dog and had them in a bag under my seat


The Seahawks scored a field goal on their first possession to open the scoring and the hot dog consumption. I ate them quickly, they were still warm. That would be the only points for the Hawks in the first quarter.


1st Quarter Score: Cowboys 3, Seahawks 3.
3 points = 3 hot dogs


The Seahawks never really got in to any rhythm on offense in the first half and only managed to score a field goal in the second quarter as well. The hot dogs were no longer warm but still enjoyable and no real sense of urgency to the game or eating yet.


2nd Quarter Score: Cowboys 10, Seahawks 6
3 points = 3 hot dogs


I still had 16 hot dogs left and with both defenses actually playing very well it didn’t seem like I would need a whole lot more so I didn’t buy any at half time. The third quarter began with a great drive by the Seahawks methodically moving the ball and squeezing the ball in to the end zone finally to take the lead in the game. The extra point was made and I had seven more dogs to put down, YES! Except, just as I started my second hot dog the Cowboys struck on a shocking kickoff return for a touchdown to take the lead back and the momentum. Suddenly, the hot dogs were cold and dry and difficult to eat. But I finished them and no more points were scored in the quarter.


3rd Quarter Score: Dallas 17, Seahawks 13.
7 points = 7 hot dogs

As the fourth quarter begins I have 9 hot dogs left in my bag and Seattle is down 4 so I know I will need to eat at least 6 more hot dogs in order for Seattle to win (5 for the points + 1 victory HDB), but the game is too close for me to want to get up and buy more hot dogs at that time. Dallas puts together a long drive and they get a field goal out of it to make the score 20-13 and now my hot dog number is exactly 9. In reality though, it would be very unlikely that the Seahawks would score 8 more points exactly considering the most likely outcome for them to win would be a touchdown (7 points) to tie the game and a field goal (3 points) to win it.

It was about midway through the fourth quarter, the Seahawks had just gotten the ball back, I only had a half a bottle of water left, and I needed more reserve hot dogs as well. I rushed out of my seat to the nearest concession stand which, to my surprise, was shutting down and they were sold out of water and hot dogs!? I ran to the next closing stand and it was the same story, and the next one as well. Crap, no water and no additional hot dogs, I was in trouble.

I went back to my seat when the Hawks drove the ball quickly to the Dallas 1-yard line. First and goal from the 1-yard line, surely this would be a touchdown. But no, the Hawks lost yardage and on fourth down from the 2-yard line they failed to score. Great, my bad hot dog karma was affecting the game. But the craziness that ensued can hardly be explained. Let me do it quickly to save the drama - the Cowboys fumbled from the 2-yard line in to the end zone, the Seahawks recovered out of bounds for a safety. The score was now 20-15 Cowboys ahead, and I needed to eat two HDB's quickly as the Seahawks would get the ball back.

The hot dogs were getting hard to eat, the meat was cold and rubbery, the buns were devoid of all moisture, and I had almost no liquids to get them down now. I shoved the two dogs in and with a mouthful of meat and buns, I screamed in jubliation as the Seahawks struck for a 37 yard TD to Jerramy Stevens with 5 minutes left in the game. The Hawks went for the two point conversion and missed making the score: Seahawks 21, Dallas 20. I had 7 hot dogs left in my bag and needed to put down 6 for the score. Perfect, now we just need to hold Dallas and the last hot dog could be saved for the victory.

But Dallas came back and moved the ball down the field with ease while taking time off the clock. They moved the ball inside the Sehawks ten with two minutes remaining. Dallas then got what seemed to be a potentially game clinching first down but the referees reversed a third down spot making it fourth down. Dallas would have to go for a field goal which would give them a two point lead with under one minute remaining. I still had 3 hot dogs remaining to eat and the only liquid I had left was a quarter of a beer I had bought back in the first half. Oh, this was not good, not good.

But once again the unexplainable happened as Dallas rookie QB Tony Romo quizzically fumbled the field goal snap and went frantically running for the end zone but somehow came up short - the crowd is going wild, pandamonium, uncontrollable excitement and shock is consuming the stadium. The Seahawks got the ball back with the lead and I still had time to finish my hot dogs. With the adrenaline pumping I mashed the final hot dogs in and washed them down with the warm beer - could it be? And I still had one hot dog left for the victory.

Dallas got the ball back with 2 seconds left on the clock and a Hail Mary shot at the end zone. The video below captures the last play of the game and a bite of my final hot dog.



Seahawks Win: 21-20
Hot Dogs Eaten = 22 (21 points + 1 victory HDB)

22 seems to be a very serindipitous number for me; that was the number of hot dogs I qualified for Nathan's with, it is the number I ate at the Nathan's compeition on July 4th, and now it is the excact number of hot dogs I brought to the stadium and ate while there.

So, now Mr. Pat bertoletti, I pose the question to you - how many hot dogs should I make for next week's game at Chicago? I am thinking a lot.