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Der Viener Schlinger, Fairbury Brand Meats’ handheld hot dog launcher, has made its 200th appearance at Memorial Stadium, according to Flatwater Free Press. The report says the device has launched about 20,000 hot dogs at Nebraska games and traces its history from a 1997 debut to its current operator, Tim Eliker.
Der Viener Schlinger, the handheld hot dog launcher used at University of Nebraska football games, made its 200th appearance at Memorial Stadium this season, according to a Flatwater Free Press report. The article says the Fairbury Brand Meats promotion has fired roughly 20,000 hot dogs at Husker games since it began in 1997, turning a sideline marketing idea into a recurring stadium tradition.
The launcher’s Nebraska story began after Fairbury Brand Meats marketing director Marc Roode saw the Philadelphia Phillies’ mascot shoot hot dogs into the stands during a 1996 game. Roode contacted sports marketer Buckeye Epstein, who had acquired rights to the device, and obtained a launcher for Nebraska. The company brought it to Memorial Stadium the following spring.
The University of Nebraska would not allow an ATV onto the field, the report says, so the equipment was adapted to a two-wheel commercial dolly carrying a carbon dioxide tank. The operator holds the launcher, which shoots Fairbury Brand hot dogs. It first appeared at a Nebraska game against Akron in 1997, with Conrad Good handling the device.
Good operated it for 18 seasons before stepping aside in 2015 because of balance problems linked to neuropathy. His apprentice, Tim Eliker, took over. The report describes Eliker firing during the first quarter of Nebraska’s game against North Dakota, with one shot landing near the field and another reaching the East Stadium upper deck. It does not provide a separate count for that game.
A Stadium Promotion Becomes Tradition
The Schlinger is a small but enduring example of how sports teams use in-game promotions to connect sponsors and local products with fans. Its long run gives Fairbury Brand Meats a visible presence at Nebraska games while adding a familiar spectacle to the stadium experience.
The report also places the launcher within a broader tradition of crowd giveaways. Teams have used devices to send T-shirts into stands, and other clubs have adopted sausage launchers, including the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ Bratzooka and a brat-firing device at Milwaukee Bucks games. Nebraska’s version stands out in the account for its handheld format and decades-long run, though the source does not establish that it remains the world’s first or only device of its kind today.
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From Phillies Sideline to Lincoln
The idea came to Roode during a 1996 Monday Night Football broadcast. He saw the Philadelphia Phillies’ mascot firing hot dogs from a device mounted on a four-wheeler and recognized a potential promotion for Fairbury’s red hot dogs. The launcher had debuted at a Phillies game earlier that year, according to the report.
Because Nebraska officials declined to permit an ATV at Memorial Stadium, Roode’s team reworked the setup for the university’s restrictions. Good, who worked at aerospace firm General Dynamics, became the first operator. Eliker later inherited the role. Both men wore distinctive butcher’s coats, which the report says were chosen through Fairbury’s advertising agency and also helped block wind during cold-weather games.
Hot dog launchers have since appeared at other sports venues. The Flatwater Free Press lists devices used by several baseball teams and the Seattle Seahawks, as well as the Milwaukee Bucks’ brat launcher, which fires sausages wrapped in foam noodles. Those examples provide context for the promotion but do not change the Nebraska launcher’s reported history.
““I had some proud moments in that stadium.””
— Conrad Good, the launcher’s first Nebraska operator, speaking to Flatwater Free Press
The Count Behind the Claim
The report describes the launcher as having fired about 20,000 hot dogs and says this season marked its 200th Memorial Stadium appearance, but it does not explain how the cumulative total was calculated or give a date for the 200th game appearance. The figure should be treated as the report’s estimate, not as an independently audited count.
The source also does not specify how many hot dogs are fired at a typical game, the device’s operating range, or whether the 200th appearance included every event at which it may have been used. It gives no new announcement about the promotion’s future schedule.
The Next Husker Game Appearance
The report does not announce a new milestone, a change in the launcher, or a confirmed schedule for upcoming appearances. Eliker is identified as the operator who took over after Good, and the device’s next appearance will depend on Fairbury Brand Meats’ game-day promotion plans and the university’s arrangements for stadium events. No further launch date or revised hot dog total is provided.
Key Questions
What is Der Viener Schlinger?
It is a handheld hot dog launcher used as a Fairbury Brand Meats promotion at University of Nebraska football games.
How many hot dogs has it launched?
Flatwater Free Press reports an estimated total of about 20,000 hot dogs. The article does not describe a formal counting method.
When did it first appear at a Nebraska game?
The report says it made its Nebraska debut at the 1997 season opener against Akron, operated by Conrad Good.
Who operates the launcher now?
Tim Eliker took over from Good in 2015, according to the report. It does not provide a separate schedule for future appearances.
Why was the launcher adapted for Memorial Stadium?
The University of Nebraska did not allow an ATV onto the field, so the equipment was modified to use a two-wheel commercial dolly for the launcher and its carbon dioxide tank.
Source: hn
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