The fabled Loonie Dogs Night returned to a very different-looking Rogers Centre for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday, and fans indulged to a worrying degree in a spectacle of consumption pulled straight from the tales of ancient Rome.

Hot dogs were celebrated even before the game between the Jays and Chicago White Sox began, when competitive eater and hot dog-annihilating legend Joey Chestnut threw the ceremonial first pitch.

Major League Eating Champ meets Major League Baseball!

Welcome, @joeyjaws! 🌭 pic.twitter.com/iAKxOchsSz

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 25, 2023

Only 20 minutes into the game, fans had scarfed down a terrifying number of hot dogs, with an in-stadium counter showing the figure crossing 25,000.

We are 20 minutes into the Jays game and over 25,000 hot dogs have already been consumed. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Sv0KCPLHw8

— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) April 25, 2023

By the time all was said and done, fans had consumed an astonishing 51,629 of the $1 hot dogs, setting a record for the most hot dogs sold during the brief history of the Loonie Dogs Night promotion.

You’ve got that (hot) dog in you 😤🌭

A RECORD-BREAKING 51,629 Loonie Dogs were crushed last night! pic.twitter.com/jkUKFkBtpy

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 26, 2023

Some fans suggested that this hot dog feeding frenzy could have been pushed into the record books thanks to the presence of Joey Chestnut.

Legend Joey Chestnut ate half of them

— x - Connor Hellebuyck Enthusiast (@CrosbyForMVP) April 26, 2023

The Rogers Centre hosted an attendance of 28,917 glizzy gladiators on Tuesday. Dividing attendance figures by the total hot dogs consumed, the average Jays fan ate 1.78 hot dogs last night.

Blue Jays fans came out hot on the first Loonie Dogs night of the season, establishing new records for total sold at 51,629 (previous high 50,743 set last Sept. 27) and Dogs Per Fan, or DPF, at 1.79 (previous high 1.37 last April 26). pic.twitter.com/Vk3eJF25vC

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) April 26, 2023

The previous record for the most hot dogs consumed was 50,743, recorded on Sept. 27, 2022. Granted, this record was attained with a much larger crowd than Tuesday's game. The over 40,000 in the stands that game ate an average of 1.25 hot dogs, eclipsed by last night's figure.

Since last year, fans have eaten a somewhat worrying 444,854 hot dogs during Loonie Dogs Night promotions. The promotion was introduced in 2019, halted during the pandemic, and reintroduced to much fanfare.