On Saturday, a brave man caught our attention on the sidelines of Minnesota's loss to Ohio State when he was seen eating a Dilly Bar on the sidelines while snow fell in 20-degree weather. That man, we now know, is Dilly Bar Dan.
Dan Lehman, a telephone technician at Pioneer Communications who monitors the phones and headsets on the sidelines for the Gophers, received some mild internet fame as a result of the image. KMSP-TV in the Twin Cities tracked him down and asked if the move was indeed intended to be psychological warfare, as our own Spencer Hall quipped in his playoff threat watch. Turns out he just wanted a Dilly.
"Ever since we moved into TCF Bank stadium, Dairy Queen has given the press area upstairs treats at halftime, and [my boss] grabs a treat on the way down, whatever we want, Dilly Bars or Buster Bars, and that game I just happened to ask him to bring me down a Dilly," Lehman tells us. "That's every game, regardless of weather."
Need some more Dilly Bar Dan quotes? Of course you do. Here's another, via ESPN.
"It's never too cold for a Dilly Bar," he said. "That's just one of those things that I'll enjoy whenever they give it to me."
May your Dilly Bars stay frozen and plentiful, Dan.