Some people might be drinking green beer on Saturday, March 17, but a sizeable number of Americans will be eating their way into oblivion as they watch the round of 32 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournement. Because Corndog Day and college basketball were founded together – and together they shall stick, like, well, hot dogs and cornmeal.
National Corndog Day is entering its 20th year in 2012. Officially, the day begins at the tip-off of the first game of the morning, and ends with the buzzer of the last game that night, but founders Brady Sahnow and Henry Otley say you can start celebrating anytime you want. Countless corndog and basketball parties have been held in the last two decades. You can even register your party at the National Corndog Day website, where you can also find tasty recipes (corndog casserole, anyone).
If you’re anywhere near Evanston, you can skip the recipes and head to Wiener and Still Champion, where they’re throwing their own Corndog Day party by selling their famous Dippin’ Dogs for $1.50. Order three Dippin’ Dogs and get a choice of over a dozen dipping sauces (including garlic aioli, spicy mustard and curry ketchup) for just 50 cents more. Of course, you can also order dozens of corndogs and take them back to your house to watch basketball.
The apocryphal backstory for National Corndog Day reaches back to the co-founder’s teen years, when they holed themselves up in a basement, watching the NCAA tournment and downing corndogs. Since then, grease and cornmeal and watching basketball have been inextricably linked.
So, tune into CBS at 11 a.m., and get those dipping sauces ready.
