Post-buzzer Las Vegas video captures
The following video captures were taken from the video of the goldenpalace.net grilled cheese contest on the contest page at goldenpalaceevents.com after the contest timer expired (around 2:20 – 2:26 in the video)
It is obvious from the video captures that Sonya has a significant amount (probably 1/4 to 1/2 a sandwich) outside her mouth after the contest is finished. I assume that the man with sunglasses and a notepad is a contest official and he apparently took no action after he saw the amount of food outside Sonya’s mouth.
If the chipmunking rule is going to be interpreted liberally, then Sonya has every right to take advantage of that interpretation, but IFOCE should clarify the details of that rule so other eaters can take advantage of it as well.
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Rhonda Evans said
June 14, 2006 @ 7:59 am
As a sister from DC, Alexandria is in my backyard, so it’s almost as if Sonya is my neighbor. She is a most loved, respected, and sweet human being, towards which an unfair, mean-spirited, cowardly conspiracy is being directed towards, at least on this site, and OJ is right there in the middle. I will defend my neighbor at ALL COSTS.
Before I move on, Paul, you sound like you didn’t mean to do any harm, and I never questioned Joey’s sportsmanship. He’s one of my favorites too. But since you opened a can of worms, I need to try to help contain them. Right now they are brutally misdirected … I know you didn’t intend it to be this way. But …
It’s a damned shame that peopleseemingly wait in ambush to isolate and focus on the tiniest eater, the only female among much larger men, and question her integrity / accuse her of cheating, when she’s abiding by rules that have been in place since as far back as I can remember. The cowardly ones won’t pick on someone the size of The Godfather, Badlands, Cookie, etc., for fear that they’d get their asses handed to them. So poor Sonya Thomas becomes a most convenient target. How despicable can you be?
Just look at the size of Sonya’s mouth. It’s as small as a bird’s. Most of the other eaters are well ahead of Sonya at the onset of a contest as soon as they put the first bit of food into their mouths. Many eaters’ mouths can house 1/2 – 3/4 of a pound of food or more, and at the end of the contest, these people are chewing away on this monstrous quantity of sustenance. Hell, it would take a minute or two just to swallow what’s in their mouths. That amount alone is likely near double what you see sticking outside Sonya’s mouth and what’s inside her mouth combined at the end of this or any contest.
Also, judging from the times I’ve seen Sonya eat, she’s BY FAR the neatest eater out there. She’s THE ONE who makes it a sport, as she is most graceful when she eats. She truly is poetry in motion. In her first few contests, incidentally, Sonya likely hurt herself, because she always seemed to ensure that when time expired, all food was swallowed. But as time went by Sonya became more attuned to the rules and now uses them like a master. Hell, she has to AND SHOULD. She’s already disadvantaged competing with some men whose esophagus seems so large that all they do with sandwich foods is 1) open mouth, 2) drop in food, and 3) let if fall to stomach. Yeah, there’s a hell of a lot of sport in that isn’t there. Sonya has to chew, unfortunately.
Sonya, like I say, is most admired here in DC. I was recently told by a friend that Elliot of DC 101’s Elliot in the Morning Show referred to Sonya as one of the most admired athletes in the world. This is the same radio station where Howard Stern began to achieve national recognition, before his move to WNBC in NYC. I believe Elliot and Howard stay in contact with each other. I’m sure Elliot would be most infuriated to hear of how one of the world’s most admired female athletes is being picked on by people on the periphery of the IFOCE. I intend to call in to the show to express this ridiculous, cowardly behavior on the air. Elliot doesn’t mix words, and he would love to hear about this, I’m certain. He also defends Sonya, and in a in a brutally honest way.
The sad thing is, unfortunately, Sonya may not even know anything about all this. She seems very private, and I hope she doesn’t visit this site any time soon, because it would likely hurt her. But Sonya, if you do read this, just do one thing for me: KICK ASS HONEY! You ARE well loved in the DC metro area. Never forget that.
Sonya Thomas is the greatest competitive eater who ever lived. And just as she owes (and is quick to recognize) folks like Cookie, Badlands, Moses, The Godfather, and Kratchie for elevating the sport for newcomers like her to excel, everyone who eats at a table with this great woman owes her dearly. The level of prize money people are making on the IFOCE circuit would likely not be where it is today had that little wonder named Sonya Thomas not emerged on the scene in June of 2003.
Sonya to competitive eating is like Babe Ruth to baseball. May Sonya the living legend prosper for many more years on the competitive eating circuit.!
Mega Munch said
June 14, 2006 @ 8:15 am
She’s using her hands too. Who’s that guy on Sonya’s left? In the frame on the bottom right, he’s got his hands to his mouth too. What’s up with that? I’m telling you, when the buzzer sounds (they should get one), the hands should go up and the eaters should step away from the table. Problem solved.
Skinnyboy said
June 14, 2006 @ 8:39 am
The guy in the blue shirt and glasses is Dave Baer with the IFOCE.
Yo Mama said
June 14, 2006 @ 2:20 pm
MM – I think that guy to her left is Joey. But he didn’t have crap hanging out of his mouth. His hand to mouth was probably keeping whatever IN so it wouldn’t come OUT. Your idea is not half bad. Buzzer, hands up, step away.
Rhonda Evans said
June 14, 2006 @ 2:42 pm
You folks can conjecture all you want about what you think the rules should or shouldn’t be. I guess it makes for good conversation, on this site. Keep talking, while I go take a crap.
Erik the Red said (Registered January 9, 2006)
June 14, 2006 @ 6:48 pm
Well, I know we have reached the pinnacle of social interaction when we are getting bowel movement updates from Rhonda. The true magic of the Internet has been revealed. Thanks Rhonda, I am not going to take a crap right now.
WyattEarp said
June 15, 2006 @ 9:19 am
Actually, Sonya is more like the Barry Bonds of competitive eating according the latest entries. I’m just joking. Don’t start getting all serious.
Joe said
June 15, 2006 @ 9:58 am
The last second stuff,AKA chipmunkingis an old technique that has won many contest. I try to time my last mouthful to consume the the absloute largest amount..Sometimes we overstuff to the point we can barely chew, at this point up goes the hand. As long as the food is (1) in the mouth and not grossly protruding (2) there is no food hitting the floor and (3) there is no reversal, I see it as no harm ,no foul