"It is possible to die from eating. But I think to be professional means you don't die." (Takeru Kobayashi)

Saturday, June 24, 2006

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

SHOOFLY CONTEST 046 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!)

SHOOFLY CONTEST 9999

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not a bad debut! You picked such a hard food. How'd hot sauce go?

3:56 PM

 
Blogger Dave S. said...

Thanks. It was a thrill just to compete. After about five minutes, I'd reached the reversal point and couldn't wait for it to end! I was taking ghost bites...miming fistfuls of pie into my mouth so I wouldn't look like I was just standing there!

As for the hot sauce. I dragged myself downtown to the competition, still feeling bloated from the pie contest.

The sauce was called "Rectum Wrecker." I tried a spoonful and knew pretty much immediately that a full bottle (the quickest to finish, wins) would be a bad idea, so I bowed out. On any other day, I would've done it, but my stomach had been through enough!

5:44 PM

 
Blogger steakbellie said...

Congratulations,
It was nice to meet you at the event. I had expected it to be alittle easier as it was a shorter event, but I think it was shorter because it was so rich and sweet.

My stomach was mad at me all the rest of the day, and although I'm a hot sauce junky, I dont think I would have even shown up like you did for the second contest.

My son convinced one of the nice ladies to give him a Boxed Pie to take home. I made him put it in the trunk so I couldnt smell it.

Still It was nice not to be plauged with 10 hours of hotdog burps the rest of the day.

There were a few guys within striking distance of third but how about those totals for Humble Bob and Eater X? Just awesome performances!!!!

I hope you enjoyed it all and will continue to pursue the sport as an eater!

5:23 PM

 
Blogger Dave S. said...

I hear ya bro, that stuff was brutal. Yeah, it's cool to see X and Bob motivating each other like that. They're old pals, so you know they would've been happy for each other no matter who ended up on top.

9:07 PM

 
Blogger Dan said...

Congrats on your pro debut Dave! I thought the hat was a particularly nice touch though they always remind me of the Cursed Quilt episode of the Friday the 13th TV series! Did you see that Sonya ate something like 60 ham biscuits in 8 minutes to win a competition over the weekend?

7:32 AM

 

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