How To Accomplish The 9-9-9 Challenge

Summary

You Betcha Radio – Episode Summary

Episode: How To Accomplish The 9-9-9 Challenge
Date: August 10, 2026
Hosts: Myles "You Betcha" (Host), Jared, Steve, Ryan, Tyler
Theme: Surviving and strategizing the legendary Midwest "9-9-9 Challenge" (nine hot dogs, nine buckets of popcorn, and nine beers over nine innings at a baseball game).

---

Episode Overview

The crew dives headfirst into one of the Midwest’s most infamous feats: the 9-9-9 Challenge. The episode is packed with comedic banter, tactical advice, and some truly questionable gastric decisions. Jared seeks the squad’s counsel as he prepares for his own attempt at the challenge, and everyone chimes in with strategies, cautionary tips, and plenty of laughs.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining the 9-9-9 Challenge

• The challenge entails eating nine hot dogs, drinking nine beers, and (sometimes jokingly) consuming nine "buckets" of popcorn across the length of a nine-inning baseball game.
• Ownership of the challenge: "What is nine dogs, nine brus in nine innings of ball?" (Host, 00:10).

2. Hot Dog Strategy

• Pacing is critical. Most suggest front-loading hot dog consumption before fullness sets in.

  • Jared’s plan: "I would do four to start or five to start and then like fourth or fifth inning, go refill." (Jared, 01:45)
  • Steve: "Get five dogs done as fast as possible. Get it before your belly sends the message to your brain that you're full." (Steve, 02:26)
  • "Try to get two dogs in the first inning, if that's possible." (Jared, 02:12)

• Condiment advice:

  • Go light or plain, mostly mustard – heavy toppings will make the task harder and the aftermath worse.
    • "Don’t go heavy on the condiments. Or plain." (Jared, 03:38)
    • "Stay away from relish and, and onions." (Host, 03:50)

• Mechanical hot dog tips:

  • "Scrunch. Get the bun as compacted as possible... Do that with the bun. You want it to be as little as possible going down." (Steve, 03:54 & 04:14)
  • "A fluffy bun, mentally, is way harder than something that's like a pancake." (Steve, 04:22)

3. Beer Chugging & Game Plan

• The right order: heavy debate!

  • "Do you want to maybe slam a couple beers before the hot dogs? Because if you're really full of hot dogs, it's gonna be tough to drink bruskies." (Host, 02:35)
  • "I think go six beers before your first dog." (Host, 06:03)
  • "I maybe go nine beers before your first dog. I go 10 beers before your first dog." (Steve, 06:08)

• Beer Size Matters:

  • Tap beer is preferred ("The flow down the gullet of a tap beer is much better than it out of a can." (Host, 03:05))
  • If possible, find 12oz options—less volume helps.
    • "Scope out the area, see if you can find a 12 ounce anything. That'll make your life a lot easier." (Jared, 03:11)
  • But even with larger cups, consensus is: just count each serving as "one beer," even if technically it holds more.

4. Popcorn and the “Bonus Round”

• The crew jokes about nine "buckets of popcorn" as either an official rule or part of the legend, plus various innuendos about popcorn tricks.
• Serious focus stays on the hot dogs and beers as the core elements.

5. Physical & Logistical Considerations

• Moving counts: "Walk around the stadium. That's gonna help with digestion and not make you feel so full." (Host, 06:22)
• Game choice:
  • Minor league games on dollar dog nights help cut costs.
    • "Minor league team in town. Mondays are dollar dog night." (Host, 07:28)
• Budget warning:
  • "We're talking this game is like a $250 challenge. Yeah, that's without tickets." (Steve, 07:21)
• Beer sales cutoff:
  • "Make sure you know what time they, like, cut off beer sales." (Jared, 07:55)

6. Social & Psychological Edge

• Always have a dog or a beer in your hand, "Never be empty handed." (Host, 04:38)
• Bring a hype man: "Bring a buddy, too. And have them encouraging you." (Steve, 08:02)
• Don’t do it alone and document your quest:
  • "Can you imagine if you just went to the game by yourself? ... call an Uber. You're just ... the last one at the stadium." (Host & Steve, 08:07–08:17)
  • "Snapchat each one when you're done. Like, that's number one. That's number two." (Jared, 08:37)
• Crowd participation:
  • "Let’s start a cup snake. ... Keep drinking out of your stack so people know how many beers you've crushed." (Steve & Host, 08:17–08:37)

---

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “Get five dogs done as fast as possible. Get it before your belly sends the message to your brain that you’re full.” – Steve (02:26)
• “Slam two beers to start. God, it's a lot.” – Steve (02:45)
• “Don’t go heavy on the condiments. Or plain.” – Jared (03:38)
• “The flow down the gullet of a tap beer is much better than it out of a can.” – Host (03:05)
• “You want it to be as little as possible going down... A fluffy bun, mentally, is way harder than something that's like a pancake.” – Steve (04:14, 04:22)
• “Always have a dog and a beer in your hand. Never be hand. It should be Edward 40 hands.” – Jared (04:30)
• “This game is like a $250 challenge. Yeah, that's without tickets.” – Steve (07:21)
• “Can you imagine if you just went to the game by yourself? ... You're the last one at the stadium just waiting for your room.” – Host & Steve (08:07–08:17)
• “Let’s start a cup snake. Can I have yours, bro?” – Steve (08:17–08:25)
• “Go live on TikTok too. And then maybe you can get some galaxies out of it.” – Host (08:49)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:55: Intro to the 9-9-9 challenge and participants’ (lack of) experience.
• 01:00–02:12: Early hot dog strategy and pacing debate.
• 02:16–03:14: Beer/hot dog ordering and the effect of fullness.
• 03:36–04:22: Condiment and bun compression advice.
• 05:16–06:29: Beer-first vs. dog-first, physical strategies, and walking.
• 07:16–07:39: Budgeting and picking the right night/game.
• 07:55–08:04: Choosing a buddy, crowd energy, and sharing documentation.

---

Takeaways & Midwest Mantra

Attempting the 9-9-9 challenge is as brutal in reality as it is legendary in lore. Success requires meticulous planning, a cast-iron stomach, and—most importantly—a sense of humor (and, possibly, an empty wallet). As the boys preach: bring your buddies, never have empty hands, pick your battles with beer and dogs wisely, and celebrate every win—no matter how messy the challenge gets. Cheers!

Transcript

[Jared]

Doing the 999 challenge this weekend. What should my tactic be for it?

[Steve]

So 999 is nine hot dogs, nine buckets of popcorn and nine beers.

[Host]

What is nine dogs, nine brus in nine innings of ball?

[Steve]

Yeah, I mean buckets of popcorn.

[Host]

Nine popcorn tricks to get nine hand jobs, which.

[Steve]

That's tough.

[Host]

You, you hope there's run.

[Steve]

They don't all have to be hand jobs.

[Host]

That's true. That's very true.

[Steve]

So, okay, so nine corn dogs, nine beers, nine hot dogs, nine beers and nine innings of baseball.

[Jared]

Yeah, you got it.

[Steve]

And did you actually try attempt that ever?

[Jared]

Me?

[Steve]

Yeah. Remember I joked that I was. You joked.

[Host]

Okay. Yeah.

[Steve]

Um, so I think, I mean, nine innings of baseball is easy. You just gotta show up on time and leave after it's done.

[Host]

Correct.

[Steve]

So you got.

[Jared]

That's good.

[Steve]

So you got that one under wrap. That one's probably the easiest, I would say.

[Host]

Yep.

[Steve]

And it'd be so funny. Like his team's losing like 15 to 0 and he's like, still gotta just stick it out for nine innings all

[Jared]

they want in the stands.

[Host]

Yeah, well, and he's. It's gonna take a while to get out of the parking lot too. Cause he's not leaving early.

[Steve]

I think what's tough is it's like the hot dogs, you definitely got to make sure you're buying them. Well, the question is, do you buy all nine at once? Cuz what's going to be easier to do? Eating a warm or hot. Even hot hot dog. That going to be easier or you know, room temp or, you know, a cold dog, does that go down easier?

[Jared]

I would do four to start or five to start and then like fourth or fifth inning, go refill.

[Steve]

And do you think that pacing yourself is better? You're the hot dog guy. You got second place this year.

[Jared]

Actually, probably not.

[Steve]

So you go hand right away, eat five right away.

[Jared]

Yep.

[Steve]

Then drink beers in between and then just gut out another four.

[Jared]

Yep.

[Steve]

In like the, you know, top of the ninth.

[Jared]

Yeah. Try to get two dogs in the first inning, if that's possible.

[Steve]

I mean, I can get two dogs done in a minute and a half.

[Jared]

Yeah. Get ahead of pace.

[Host]

And do you kind of want to. Do you want to like.

[Steve]

You're right, because getting five dogs done as fast as possible. Get it before your belly sends the message to your brain that you're full.

[Host]

Well, okay. And that's what I was going to get to also. Do you want to like maybe slam a couple beers before the hot Dogs. Because if you're really full of hot dogs, it's going to be tough to drink bruskies.

[Jared]

That's not a bad.

[Steve]

So you might want to slam two beers to start. God, it's a lot.

[Host]

I think we also need.

[Steve]

It's a lot. Well, and how big are the beers we talking? Like, are we talking stadium, like 24 ounce beers?

[Jared]

I would say it's 16 ounce beers.

[Host]

I think we need tap beers.

[Jared]

Yeah.

[Steve]

Because the 12 ounce tap beers is.

[Jared]

They have them sometimes. Usually it's a little bigger than that.

[Host]

The fl. Because the flow down the gullet of a tap beer is much better than it out of a can.

[Jared]

Scope out the area, see if you can find a 12 ounce anything that'll make your life a lot easier. And I feel like that counts. It's not really cheating.

[Steve]

I mean, that's a beer, right?

[Host]

That's a brusky.

[Steve]

Yeah. And are you. Let's say he can only get 16 ounce beers. Are you counting that as one and a third beers?

[Jared]

That's one beer.

[Steve]

Oh, that's tough that way because then you really only have to do, you know.

[Jared]

Yeah, I know. But. Yeah, that's the way.

[Steve]

I know, I know, I know.

[Jared]

Not the real one. And then the condiments, I would just do a little bit of mustard. Don't go heavy on the condiments. Or plain.

[Steve]

I mean. Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah. Stay away from relish and, and onions.

[Jared]

Yeah. Plus your breath's going to stink.

[Steve]

And I also think it's important that you like take the hot dog out of the tin foil and like, like scrunch. Get the bun as compacted as possible.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Steve]

You know what I mean? Like you take a piece of bread and you mush it together and it stays like that.

[Host]

Sure.

[Steve]

Do that with the bun. You, you want it to be as little as possible going down.

[Host]

Agreed.

[Steve]

A fluffy bun, mentally, is way harder than something that's like a pancake.

[Host]

Yeah. And don't do foot long dogs either.

[Jared]

Just do regular dogs and always have the dog. Always have a dog and a beer in your hand. Never be hand. It should be Edward. 40 hands.

[Host]

Basically never be empty handed.

[Steve]

Well, so here's what Jared, let's say you're saying hammer five hot dogs right away. You could have two beers, five hot dogs done by the end of the second inning.

[Jared]

Right.

[Steve]

I think you almost mentally then need to just take a break, go for a walk and just do beers for a little while. Maybe do a walk, definitely. And then be like, all right, I'm gearing up to end this challenge strong. 7th inning stretch is when I start hammering dogs again. So basically you got like five innings to recover.

[Jared]

Yep.

[Host]

Well, dude, what do you guys think about doing like five to seven brusque before you even touch a dog?

[Steve]

Because drinking does make you hungry because

[Host]

you're going to kind of get the.

[Steve]

The munchies and it's probably easier to put dogs down when you got a little buzz going.

[Host]

Exactly.

[Jared]

Yep. I'd say, yeah, at least £3.

[Steve]

I mean, honestly, if you just smoke before the game, you're going to do this no problem.

[Host]

100%. You might get really faded and then your buddy's driving you home for sure.

[Steve]

Well, you're driving them home regardless.

[Host]

Yeah. But yeah, I think if.

[Steve]

Yes, I'd say smoke before.

[Jared]

Don't skip lunch that day.

[Steve]

Skip lunch, smoke, go to the game.

[Host]

I think go six beers before your first dog.

[Jared]

I think go seven beers.

[Steve]

I maybe go nine beers before your first dog. I go 10 beers before your first dog.

[Host]

Well, if. Because if you go six, you can use the last three bruskies to wash the dogs down.

[Jared]

Yeah.

[Host]

So then you're kind of killing two birds with one stone.

[Jared]

The last three beers and definitely walk around the stadium. That's gonna help with digestion and not make you feel so full.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jared]

And plus you'll burn a few calories. Not a lot.

[Host]

And if, if it's like a minor league game and you can get onto the field for between inning entertainment, that's also some good calorie burning right there. They might have the fucking. You might have to race the Iceman or whatever on the outfield. Get some exercise in.

[Steve]

That's like the last thing I want to do with five hot dogs and five beers in me.

[Host]

But never be empty handed. So have a dog down on the

[Jared]

field maybe after the game. Run the bases with the kids.

[Steve]

Yeah. Instead. Yeah. Instead of winning a 25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wing Steve, you can exchange it for hot dog credit at the stadium. Keep that cost down because I'm starting to do the math on how much this is going to cost you. Yeah, there's 15 beers at the stadium.

[Jared]

Yeah.

[Steve]

Times nine and hot dogs are 10 bucks.

[Jared]

Bring your checkbook.

[Steve]

Yeah. Jesus. We're talking this game is like a $250 challenge. Yeah, that's without tickets.

[Host]

Minor league team in town. Mondays are dollar dog night.

[Steve]

Going to Monday, so see if they

[Host]

got a dollar dog night. So I mean, it sounds like you're already got the game pinned down. And as to which one you're going to go to.

[Jared]

Yeah.

[Host]

So, yeah, we might be out of luck there.

[Jared]

Shave recruiter.

[Host]

Wait, that sucks too, because he's not even gonna have enough room in his tummy for dipping dots either. It's a shame, but it'll save you 11 bucks for a 4 ouncer.

[Jared]

And make sure you know what time they, like, cut off beer sales.

[Steve]

Yeah, I was thinking, actually, it's.

[Jared]

Be vigilant about that.

[Steve]

Bring a buddy, too.

[Jared]

Yes.

[Steve]

And have them encouraging you.

[Host]

Can you imagine if you just went to the game by yourself?

[Steve]

They did it to do this big

[Host]

new friends call an Uber. You're just. You're the last one in the. You're the last one at the stadium just waiting for your room.

[Steve]

And the whole time you're smashing beers, you gotta just be saying out loud, let's start a snake. Yeah, let's start a cup snake.

[Jared]

I got five already.

[Steve]

I got five. I'm starting a cup snake. Can I have yours, bro?

[Host]

Or what you got to do is you got to just keep stacking cups. Keep drinking out of. Drinking out of your stack so people know how many beers you've crushed.

[Jared]

And Snapchat each one when you're done. Like, that's number one. That's number two.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Jared]

And people love that.

[Host]

You can update Friday night highlights with this chat during this challenge. That's okay.

[Jared]

You're giving them permission.

[Host]

I am.

[Jared]

Okay.

[Host]

Yep.

[Steve]

Go live on Tik Tok, too. And then maybe you can get some galaxies out of it.

[Host]

Galaxies equal free dogs.

[Steve]

Yeah. Guys, if you want more, you bet your radio. You got to check out our Patreon. You got to go to Patreon Radio or look us up on the app. And we have hundreds of hours of other episodes on there that you can't get unless you're signed up. So you got to check us out on Patreon. You bet your radio, baby.