Let's discuss Pretzel Swords and other new concession items coming to college football

Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.

Most of the time, if I’m at a college sports event, I’m sitting in the press box or on press row. That’s great for getting an awesome view of the action, but usually, if there’s food, it doesn’t come from the same vendors as other stadium concession stands. A press credential means you can walk almost anywhere around a stadium without a security guard bothering you, but you probably won’t be sampling the same snacks fans will be eating.

You can get a hot dog, pretzel, popcorn and pop anywhere in the country. But part of the fun of grabbing something to eat between TV timeouts is getting to try something unique, something regional … or at least something tastier than a boiled hot dog on a Costco bun.

So I was more than happy to dig into (get it? get it?????) a recent press release from the folks at Levy Restaurants, showcasing new stadium concession offerings from across the country. Aramark also published a similar release, but sadly, without official photographs.

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Having some sort of repository for all the concessions options from across the country sounds like a cool research project, but it’s probably beyond our current capacity. Even so, before I dig into what was shared with me, let me say: By all means, if your campus is cookin’ up something unique that the world needs to know about, feel free to tell me about it at matt @ extrapointsmb.com.

I’m not going to share every single item from every press release, but there are a few highlights I think are worth discussing:

First, let me direct your attention to the University of Central Florida, which gives us PRETZEL SWORDS:

In my humble opinion, this is an important innovation in pretzel technology. The sword shape is cartoonish and large, but it has plenty of surface area for salt, and it’s easier to dip into mustard or cheese than a regular twisty pretzel. Also, children can stab one another with them. Perfect stadium food.

I’m told UCF will also offer a special hot dog unique to each home game opponent. While these all look good, I think the TCU Super Frog Dog (which does not contain frogs) looks especially delicious. Well done, UCF.

Not sure how the pretzel swords will pair with a USC Beer Sword. Further research required.