The Hot Sauce Huskies

*DISCLAIMER*

I am not advocating that anyone drink hot sauce but do what you have to do.

Husky fans can’t be there to connect or support the team in person this season, but the internet is a wild place and has brought UConn Nation closer together. If you are a member of UConn Twitter, then you likely know the story. Hot sauce season is upon us. We may not be able to show our support in person this season, so the least we can do is stay connected as a fan base and collectively support the team online... by drinking hot sauce? There seems to be some confusion around whether hot sauce is a punishment or a celebration. Let’s clarify. It can be punitive, but it has now become mostly celebratory. I’m not sure which one is worse, but who am I to judge? UConn is back, and make their first appearance in the AP Top 25 since 2016, coming in at #25, and the Husky fans that make UConn twitter great are happy (though I’m sure most of you think UConn should be even higher).

UConn fans are a passionate bunch and sometimes that passion comes through as negativity or doubt on twitter. We need to remember that players see our tweets, both good and bad. The uninspired first half against Marquette was giving UConn fans flashbacks of the downfall of the Ollie era, getting blown out and lackluster effort. UConn twitter began to spiral, and the negativity began to run rampant with some questioning Hurley and the Huskies. However, these are not the old Huskies, have some faith. UConn stormed back to win in dramatic fashion and the UConn fanbase began to drink hot sauce as punishment for doubting the team. Some of you have still not paid your debts. #Accountability

Understandably, the Huskies resurgence in their first season back in the Big East has UConn fans going wild. After the big win, UConn fans quickly turned their negativity into positivity. What was once a punishment, is now a celebration. How quickly we move on. UConn fans are now voluntarily joining the craze, taking shots of hot sauce to cheer on their Huskies. A few down years will apparently do this to you, but the Huskies are back in the national spotlight and I see opportunity.

If I were a hot sauce company, I would be reaching out to the UConn athletic department trying to make some sort of deal, but that’s just me. As Rothstein would say, buy stock now. Shout out to Penfield for starting this all — does he get royalties if UConn does garner a deal with a hot sauce company? If you haven’t already, you should probably support the man and check out his website for some spicy hot sauce merchandise. After all, you wouldn’t even be drinking hot sauce if it weren’t for him.

So far, the Huskies have given us everything we could have hoped for early on this season. The down years in the AAC seem like a distant memory, but they can help us appreciate a win more these days. A fan base starved for success is finally enjoying the sweet, sweet taste of victory (and hot sauce). I only wish we were able to experience this as a collective group and cheer the team on in person. At least the players can see how riled up the fan base is when they scroll through the internet, the main thing keeping us UConn fans connected these days. There’s always next year though and from the looks of it, the hot sauce trend does not seem like it’s going anywhere any time soon. I know I’ll be wearing a Penfield Hurley Hot Sauce shirt to a game next season. Will you? Stock up twitter friends. It’s hot sauce season.

Hot Sauce Health Notes Disclaimer

As a scientist, I was initially thinking about including some background research in here on the health effects of excessive hot sauce consumption. I figured no one wants to read about that, and let’s be honest, if you’re taking shots of hot sauce, you probably don’t care. For those of you that do care though, spicy foods don’t cause ulcers (they can irritate existing ones though), bacteria do. So, you’re all set on that at least. Hot sauce might even have some health benefits, but for some reason, I couldn’t find any published studies on taking shots of hot sauce, who would have thought? Anyways, moderation is key. Go Huskies.