SHOOFLY CONTEST: Humble Bob destroys record by 3+ pounds, some random guy takes third

Shoo fly, don't bother me! That's how the song goes at least. Shoo fly is definitely bothering me right now, two hours after the end of the shoofly pie eating contest in Lancaster. My first ever appearance in an IFOCE sanctioned event resulted in a 2 pound, 7 ounce finish. That's pretty much exactly one pie in 8 minutes.

I would've gotten much more accurate results if I had been observing and not eating, but here's how the top three finished:

1. Humble Bob Shoudt - 9+ pounds ($2000 prize)
2. Tim "Eater X" Janus - 8+ pounds ($500)
3. Some guy making his pro CE debut - 5.75 pounds ($100)

Needless to say, Janus' record set in last year's competition (6 pounds) was demolished. The performance of "some guy making his pro CE debut" was pretty astounding too, considering other ranked eaters in attendance included Crazy Legs Conti, Brian Subich and Brickhouse Braunstein. Steakbellie, coming off a 19 HDB performance in the QVC Nathan's qualifier just two days ago, was also there.

(UPDATE: "Some guy making is pro CE debut" is actually Nathan "The Cincinnati Kid" Kunce. He travelled all the way from Cincinnati -- just over 500 miles...one way -- to compete in the contest. I was eating next to him, and I can only say his technique is scary. Good use of the Kobayashi bounce and lots of animal-like grunting and yelling. Oh, and one helluva mess.)

I can't say how happy I am to have finally competed in a pro event. Even though I fell short of my 3 pound goal, it really makes me appreciate the accomplishments of some of these eaters (NINE POUNDS!). Unbelievable. You would've thought Crazy Legs would've placed higher than he did. According to his rousing introduction, he's got plenty of pie experience as the conquerer of "key lime pie, cream pie, and hair pie."

Oh, the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders were also there. A very nice touch that made for lots of great double entendres and "when did I take that?" photos. Before the pro contest, about 14 amateurs faced off for a $250 prize. The winner of that event ate 3.75 pounds of gooey molasses baked goodness. Not bad for a minor league showing. The combination of the two contests (a little over 30 eaters total) made the entire affair the largest IFOCE eating event ever.

Below: Beau, me and Jeremy hanging out with the locals. My flickr photo stream of the event here. Steakbellie has a photo stream of the event here, including pics of the Eagles Cheerleaders. (I don't think they did a single cheer, but they sure did a nice job of standing there and looking good!)