On Oct. 30, McDonald’s announced the return of the McRib beginning Dec. 2. The boneless pork sandwich makes its return after an eight-year dormancy.

McDonald’s introduced the McRib almost 40 years ago — in 1982, specifically — as a full-time item on the menu. Since, McDonald’s has added and removed it from the menu in certain regions of the U.S., despite it remaining a full-time menu item across the Atlantic in both Luxembourg and Germany.

After three farewell tours in 2006, 2007 and 2008, McDonald’s finally announced the McRib’s permanent removal from its menu.

McDonald’s release of the sandwich usually occurs around the same time as the decrease in bulk pork prices, which may explain why the company declines to release the product full-time.

The McRib has faced controversy when in 2011, the Humane Society of the United States, a not-for-profit focused on animal welfare, filed a complaint against McDonald’s McRib meat producer.

The complaint made allegations of cruel treatment of the animals used in the McRib’s production such as cramped quarters and unsanitary conditions for the pigs.

Despite those controversies, the sandwich has quite the online fanbase, and even has websites such as mcribgate.com and mcriblocator.com. 

McRibGate began as a campaign to fully bring back the McRib to the McDonald’s menu, while Alan Klein created the McRibLocator in 2008 in an attempt to help others locate McRibs worldwide.

Despite lackluster sales during its original launch, the online fascination with the sandwich reflects a large and loyal fanbase of consumers who seem quite primed for this upcoming December.