#autobuhn

There is a team that needs help.

Not pitching help.

Not offensive line help.

Your help.

You see, the Wienermobile Run is an extremely important competition. All six Wienermobiles, Oscar Mayer’s 27-foot long hot dogs on wheels, stationed in different regions of the U.S. fight for points that can be gained in two ways. The first way to score is by completing challenges like “take a video of a band playing the Oscar Mayer jingle with the Wienermobile.” The second—and possibly the most lucrative—is by having people use the team name of the Wienermobile they see (ex. Bunderstruck, Speedy Wiener, Drift Dog) on social media. Every tweet or Instagram picture is a point.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to Oscar Mayer telling them that when I’m old enough I plan on becoming a hotdogger (someone who drives the Wienermobile). I hadn’t heard from Oscar Mayer until Friday, when I received an email from current hotdogger Spicy Mustard Mandy. She said that her partner, Pigs in a Blan-Kate, and she had read my letter and wanted to know when they could come by my house to meet me. I told them noon the next day, even though I was sort of thinking it was a prank. Nonetheless, a day of sign-making and friend-calling later, a group of friends was waiting when Autobuhn rolled up to my house.

There really aren’t words to describe what it is like to have a 27-foot long hot dog sitting in front of your house. Mandy and Kate couldn’t have been nicer. We took photos, looked inside, whistled on our wiener whistles, and heard stories about life as a hotdogger.

After munching on some Oscar Mayer (premium beef) wieners, everyone left, because they thought the show was over. Everyone, that is, except for four of us. Kate and Mandy asked if we wanted to take a ride. How many could they take? Four. Patience has its rewards, my friends.

Autobuhn was in need of a wiener wash, so we rolled up to the local fire station, Station 69. Mandy and I strolled inside and found two firemen.

“Hey guys. This isn’t something I’d ever thought I’d be saying when I woke up today, but…we just parked the Wienermobile out back and were wondering if we could use your hose to wash it,” I asked one of them.

“You brought the Wienermobile!! Hold on one second.” He reached for the intercom and then, “Boys! The Wienermobile is parked out back, and it needs washing. Let’s show ‘em how Fire Station 69 does it.”

You should have seen the looks in their eyes when they walked out back and saw Autobuhn parked there.

Ten minutes later, the firefighters were pampering the wiener themselves until they got a call and had to go. So, being responsible Wienermobile Riders, we finished the job.

While washing Autobuhn, we found a soda stain on the side. We decided to drive the Wienermobile across the street to a real car wash. We walked up to someone at the car wash and asked him if he had anything to get it out. He replied by asking us to bring our car around. We told him that we couldn’t fit our car, pointed to the Wienermobile, and watched the man fall over laughing. Even though they couldn’t get the stain out, we still paid them handsomely in Wiener Whistles for their efforts.

Since the firefighters never got a photo opportunity before they got their call, we headed back to Station 69 and took some pictures with the firefighters.

Autobuhn headed back to my house afterwards with me sitting shotbun. I got on the PA and started yelling at people.

“Hey! You in the grey shirt!”

“Join team Autobuhn!”

“How’s it going today?”

It was awesome.

But all good things have to end, and almost as quickly as it appeared, Autobuhn drove off onto Sunset Blvd. and was gone.

I learned all about being a Hotdogger Saturday. I handed out Wiener Whistles and stickers and made people’s week. There isn’t a feeling like having everyone stop, take a picture, and then laugh all because of you. This isn’t a job that is all fun and games though. It takes some skill, and if golf and bowling can be called sports, then Hotdogging should most definitely be considered one too. A successful hotdogger needs to be determined. Oscar Mayer doesn’t organize the majority of Wienermobile-attended events, they’re organized by the hotdoggers themselves. Without determination, the Wienermobile would just be a giant hot dog with nowhere to go. The job requires endurance. Smiling and waving day after day is not only get tiring but annoying too. Finally, a successful hotdogger must have incredible social skills. Kate and Mandy are the Michael Jordans of friendliness. They smile to everyone, they don’t kill each other after hours of driving, but most impressively they don’t snap whenever someone whistles a Wiener Whistle for the thousandth time. Trust me. That takes skill. Lots of it.

Spicy Mustard Mandy (left), Pigs in a Blan-Kate (right), and I with Autobuhn.

I also learned about the Wienermobile Run. The second I heard about the contest, I started tweeting, instagraming, facebooking, and vine-ing using #autobuhn because Autobuhn is in third place, and that is not OK. Kate and Mandy could not have been nicer. They deserve this victory. They want it.

But they can’t do it without you.

So go onto wienermobilerun.com and join Team #Autobuhn. Tweet. Instagram. Vine. Do it all.

Whilst going about my daily activities today, I stumbled across... THE WEINERMOBILE! I felt like a little kid inside as I ran walked up and they gave me a Weiner Whistle and a coupon for $1 off some weiners. I got to look inside and be jealous of the sweet ride these ladies get to drive around the country! There's a competition going on between 6 Weinermobiles to see who can get the most tags on social media, who can do the coolest things, maybe give a celebrity a ride, that kind of thing. My vote is for the Autobuhn!

Sometimes its the small things in life, ya know? *The Weinermobile *Watching TVD late at night whilst covered up with your favorite blankets *Any kind of ice cream from ColdStone with cookie dough in it *Watching my fish swim around *Air conditioning on a hot day