Tailgating with Larry the Cable Guy

Larry the Cable Guy knows weenies. As a cocktail weenie aficionado myself, I appreciate that.
Why, Larry even has his own recipe for something he calls “Beanie Weenie Casserole” that he says is sweeping the nation. I know all this because I asked him about it at Sunday’s Eagles game.
Dan Whitney — and his redneck-hillbilly character Larry the Cable Guy — were both in town as part of something called “A Better Way to Tailgate” challenge. Larry is pitching the heartburn-relief product Prilosec OTC and an online contest that gives tailgaters a chance to win tickets to the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
I’m all for heartburn relief, but I’m more for the things that give one heartburn to start with, something like the Beanie Weenie Casserole.
That’s the really important news associated with Larry’s visit.
“I filled in for Regis one day on ‘Regis and Kelly’ and they wanted me to bring a recipe,” said Larry, standing out in the freezing cold at the Prilosec tailgate tent Sunday. “And the favorite thing my wife makes is ‘Beanie Weenie Casserole.’ It’s beans and weenies with barbecue sauce baked in a cornbread crust. And we call it the ‘Beanie Weenie Casserole.’ I tell everybody, though, you need to be careful because the last time I had it, my Glade plug-in started a carpet fire. It’s deadly. It ought to come with a side order of Prilosec OTC. But it’s an unbelievable recipe and it’s sweeping the nation.”
I’ll tell you what, that’s funny right there, I don’t care who you are.



Whether he’s in character as Larry or just being himself, Whitney is a hoot to hang with for a while. I got several minutes with him for a one-on-one interview, in which he answered my softball questions. (What, I was going to ask Larry the Cable Guy about how to solve cancer or world hunger? No, when one gets a chance to talk to Larry the Cable Guy, there has to be at least one professional journalistic question about farting.)
“I don’t have the walking farts as bad as my grandmother does,” said Larry. “You know when you get older it’s harder to keep that kind of stuff in. As a matter of fact, she’d be here right now but she’s in a lawsuit with Wal-Mart. She used to get her hair cut up there but they kept screwing up her sideburns. That’s why she’s not here. We sure do like her, though.”
I also found out that Dan and I — both Midwesterners; he from Nebraska — shared an affection for the Oakland Raiders teams of the 1970s. Of course, we thought it wise not to discuss it within earshot of the Eagles fans.
It was a kick talking to both Dan and Larry the Cable Guy. Both seem like guys you’d want to spend the afternoon with at a tailgate party. If it wasn’t so dadgummed cold on Sunday, I would have stayed longer. But the Eagles fans seemed to appreciate spending a little time with Larry and he in turn was fun and gracious with the fans.
When it came to the interview, I was able to “Git-R-Done!” without any problems and it was a hoot. As Larry would say, we “Got-R-Did!”