Remembering the Dodger Dog

Hey there sports fans! I am a proud Los Angeles area native and I enjoy many things that this city has to offer. I love the weather, the woman, the cars, the outrageously expensive neighborhoods, and most importantly the LA teams. Who here doesn't love the Lakers or the Clippres? Who doesn't respect the UCLA vs. USC rivalry in just about everything? I mean, I even appreciate the great volleyball games at Venice beach (even though it is really hard to pay attention to the games with such lovely scenery crawling the beach).

I know what you're thinking. Well, what about baseball? You see, I'm not really in to baseball like a true baseball fan would be. I'll admit that I jump on the Angeles or Dodger bandwagon whenever they're playing well, but for the most part I barely even know who's on their teams at any given time. You know what, I don't feel bad because that goes for about 99% of other SoCalers as well. Even so, I am wise enough to appreciate going to a baseball game.

Until very recently, the last time I was at a baseball game it was to see the Dodgers back when Mr. Strawberry was playing. In fact, Darryl Strawberry was my favorite player in those days. But one of the main reasons I loved attending Dodger baseball games at Dodger stadium was because of the world famous Dodger Dogs!

Dodger Dogs are legendary in every city. They stood as a testament to why people can only watch super star athletes and never become one themselves. They made us feel good because it's if you're saying to yourself, "you know, I'll never be that athletic so it's my right to eat this unreasonably huge hot dog." And boy were they huge. I don't even know how much they cost back then but it didn't matter. Whatever adult I was with was going to have to fork up the money because I came for the Dodger Dog.

So you would imagine my surprise when I went to game about a month ago to discover what had been done to the legendary Dodger Dog. They shrunk it! Considerably. And I don't know what it cost in the Darryl Strawberry days, but that piece of hot dog today was not worth the $5 I paid for it. I caught myself actually asking the vendor, "Where's the beef?"

I know that it's great to be in shape and eat healthy. But when you go to a Dodger game, you have to expect to eat a Dodger Dog. Maybe the organization is encouraging healthy eating my trimming the size of the Dodger Dog. Or, maybe they're just being cheap. Whatever it is, I want my Dodger Dog to be a Great Dane, not a Chiwawa. Until then, I'm smuggling my own hot dogs into Dodger Stadium. I might end up with greasy pockets, but it's better than giving up $5 for a newer and slimmer model of a great American classic.