Pat Bertoletti has uploaded a video of Saturday's ice cream eating contest at Harrah's casino in Metropolis, IL.

May 5, 2009 at 12:04 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:Carbondale, Pat Bertoletti, Videos | Permalink * Comments (53)

53 Comments »

  1. Anonymous said

    May 5, 2009 @ 4:42 am

    Im not impressed anymore because it looks like the girl actually finished first and pat was smart to stack his cups so the judges coildnt inspect them. Thanks to the smart jusge who knows this is a mans sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Luther

  2. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 6:21 am

    I watched the video and I want to preface what I’m going to say here. First, Pat I have no doubt that you are the best eater in existence right now, and your integrity is not in question here.

    Second, Rona, I have much respect for you, but I know you won’t like what I’m about to say, but I’ve got to state it.

    Based on what I think I saw in the video, this is another example of the IFOCE not having control of their contests. Rules are neither consistent, nor reinforced equitably for all eaters.

    Case in point: Apparently Sonya seemed to raise her hands indicating she was finished before all other eaters. Yet, there seemed to be some controversy with the judge, and I suspect it had something to do with cleaning the cups.

    Okay, I have no problem with that at all except why were some eaters, including the declared winner, allowed to stack cups, when others, like Sonya, displayed unstacked cups, making it easy for the judge(s) to view at a glance.

    If you’re going to inspect cups, inspect everyone’s! Don’t decide rules as you go!

    As I’ve said before, this is another example of the IFOCE not caring as much about their own events as the eaters do. This has been going on for years, and Menchetti was smart enough to catch wind (hopefully he wasn’t downwind) of this early on and make a timely exit.

    What BS!

  3. Stevie Adnor said (Registered October 31, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 9:39 am

    Rhonda, I’ll have to credit your eagle-eyes on this one.

    I watched the video twice, and still can’t make out nearly the detail you’ve extracted. The quality is so poor, I couldn’t tell who was stacking, tossing, or doing whatever. It looked to me like Pat finished and was just standing there long before anyone else finished. You obviously have greater insight into what was happening in the video than an uninformed viewer like me, so thanks for helping interpret. I wouldn’t even have known what I was trying to look for.

    Even with your help, I still really don’t know what I’m seeing, and I think that’s part of the problem. I saw instance where the MC was focused so narrowly on the presumptive winner that he was virtually blind to another eater that actually appeared to finish first. It’s unfortunate that judges seem to be so hard to come by at these contests. There should be a judge who’s job is to stand back and take in “the big picture” that apparently gets overlooked by those standing in the thick of it. Sometimes you need another set of eyes to ensure that you really see what you think you see.

  4. anonymous said

    May 5, 2009 @ 9:53 am

    sonya is a crybaby and sore loser. Similar to Juliet she has to raise her hands before the winner is declared thinking the judge will be thrown off by that.

  5. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 9:59 am

    Steve, I watched it several times with different views, and if I’m wrong in my interpretation, which I could be, I sincerely apologize.

    I WANT so badly to only see good intentions in IFOCE judging. Everybody is human and makes mistakes once in awhile. I am certainly error-prone and feel awful when I “slam” somebody and I’m wrong.

    It’s just that I love competitive eating, and am rather passionate about it. It hurts me to my heart if I think something’s unfair, and I express my feelings.

    That’s me, and that’s a monkey I carry on my back.

  6. Anonymous said

    May 5, 2009 @ 10:15 am

    First off, to Stevie Adnor: Rhonda does not have greater insight then you have. She knows as little as you do. She’s just not honest about it. She shouts louder than anybody so that people will think she knows something. Her actual batting average of being right about things is well below the Mendoza Line.

    Second of all, this contest illustrates two fundamental problems with the First-to-Finish format. Every time one of these contests is held, someone leaves too much debris and somebody celebrates prematurely. In a Fixed-Time contest, debris at least can be accounted for by deductions from the final totals. In a First-to-Finish contest, you can’t always do this because any deduction would mean that the required amount of food hadn’t been eaten; and that it was likely on the floor, or on someone’s shirt, and therefore could never be eaten. Also in a First-to-Finish format, someone always celebrates prematurely, which has the effect of stopping the contest and throwing the contest into chaos, confusing the judges (who are very often first-timers on loan from the sponsor), confusing the MC, and confusing the other eaters, who often stop eating because they think the contest is over. In Fixed-Time contests, because everyone eats to the buzzer, these specific problems don’t exist, and the problems that do (debris, which can be better accounted for; and overstuffing, which can also exist in First-to-Finish) can be better managed.

  7. Anonymous said

    May 5, 2009 @ 11:50 am

    Sorry Rhonda, I have been at alot of events that had some sort of controversy but you are mistaken on this one,,, Pat raises his hand at the 55 minute mark AND takes 1 more bite, Sonya raises her hand at 1:07 AND takes 9 extra bites, stacking cups or not,,,, Who won ??

  8. North Pole said (Registered April 28, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 1:00 pm

    It looks like a very hard contest to judge, and that they were’t really ready for it to be so fast. A judge for each person to figure out what is going on while eatting. What if the judges decided after look at Pat’s bowls that he had one more he needed to eat some from? He was standing there for a long time while they were looking, and that would have cost him the contest.

  9. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 2:58 pm

    Anonymous, 9:53, I hope you don’t use that logic to console yourself. Trying to pull those above you down to your level is of no benefit to you—-just mind games.

    Anonymous 10:15, I was going to address you, but I’ve got more important things to do, one of which is to take a good healthy crap.

    Anonymous 11:50, you might be right, except at the 55-minute mark, I doubt anyone was still there.

    North Pole, you make some sense, but I still believe the IFOCE needs to be more decicive on exactly what the rules should be for every contest, communicate those rules, and enforce those rules consistently across the board.

    What a coincidence … I wonder why it is the anomymous posters consistently talk BS, as opposed to those with a real identity. The words fear, cowardess, jealousy, and ineptitude certainly come to mind.

  10. North Pole said (Registered April 28, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 3:14 pm

    Rhonda, I agree. It would be very easy to have a set of rules for each contest. They could be posted on the website and downloaded when everyone signs up for the contest. They could also be printed out and given to the competitors at the contest. Hey, but what do I know…

  11. shawn "the vacuum" kirby said

    May 5, 2009 @ 3:32 pm

    Sorry Rhonda, I meant 55 second mark, and I am right

  12. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 3:44 pm

    Good thought NP. They wouldn’t do that. Then they’d open themselves up to too much criticism if they made the slightest mistake. It’s not an easy job, judging, I understand that, but for an organization to appoint themselves as custodians to make CE the sport of the 21st century, you’d think they’d take it more seriously.

    And they wonder why the IOC doesn’t want to consider CE as an Olympic event? Olympic events have real rules that are strictly enforced. CE, as things stand now, would make a mockery of that —- not the eaters, the governance.

  13. Stevie Adnor said (Registered October 31, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 4:17 pm

    There’s nothing magic about having a set of rules. You can print them, post them, scream them from rooftops, tell eaters they must agree to abide by them, and penalize them if they don’t follow them.

    Oh wait – you could talking about any professional athlete in nearly any sport. Consider how often many of these highly compensated professionals operate under very loose interpretations of “the rules.” Conversely, how often is the umpire or referee second-guessed by everyone from the players to the most casual fan, even when “the rules” are very specific?

    I’m not saying that the rules are unimportant, that’s not true. But on the other hand, having and enforcing rules won’t eliminate either someone being creative with them or someone thinking “they was robbed” under them. It’s part of the nature of the game. At the risk of heresy, CE is “sportainment”. As such, the show is usually more important (at least to those in a position to do anything about it) than the actual outcome. The outcome is most important to those in the least powerful position, the eaters.

    As someone noted previously, most judges serve at the convenience of the sponsor. Rarely do they have any training, experience, or commitment to maintain real or imagined integrity of the game. If experienced professional umpires and line judges routinely blow calls on national TV, how much do you really expect here?

    That doesn’t make it right, fair, or anything else other than just what it is. It’s great to set your sights on high ideals, but when you factor in a healthy dose of reality, it’s surprising that it’s often not worse than it is. I think most eaters are smart enough to recognize this and deal with it. Those who can’t might consider taking up golf – it’s got a bunch of great rules.

    There’s a lot of truth in “Be careful what you wish for – you might get it.”

  14. anonymous said

    May 5, 2009 @ 4:47 pm

    Hmmm, distracting the judges? Misdirections and cheating? Sounds like professional wrestling. Mostly heel moves by people who have no business winning the match. Come to think of it, loose rules, sideshow style entertainment, obnoxious commentary, bad storylines, costumes and face painting. Hmmm.

  15. Gentleman Joe said (Registered December 8, 2005)

    May 5, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

    It looked to me like Pat won handily.

    As an experienced eater, I think he was trying to get the judges/mc’s attention because he had either just finished, or was about to.

    With that said, the video doesn’t show the contents of the cups, so who really knows for sure?!

    I’ve called it sports entertainment or “sport” for a long time now. Sportainment works for me.

  16. North Pole said (Registered April 28, 2008)

    May 5, 2009 @ 9:24 pm

    Steve – That is true what you are saying. Having set rules for each event wont take away all of the issues, but it sure would help. Not all events have problems to start with, and not all eaters seem to have issues with the rules to start with. Problems do seem to arise when the rules are pushed into that “gray area” and nothing happens. You’re not going to catch every rule broken, and you’re not going to think of every rule that needs to exist ahead of time.

    Joe has a good point about Pat trying to get the judge’s attention, even if he wasn’t totally finished. That makes a lot of sense, and I think people with a lot of experience like Joe will notice that, when some of us beginners dont.

  17. Don Lerman said

    May 5, 2009 @ 10:42 pm

    what amazes me is that eaters will complain about bad calls or bad judging, but not the bad calls and bad judging that give them a victory , how ironic

  18. for real said

    May 6, 2009 @ 1:17 am

    where are the judges ???? this is a PR stunt. What contest ? melted Ice cream ?

    no wonder everyone is switching over to WLOCE. The main body of eating contests.

  19. pat bertoletti said

    May 6, 2009 @ 1:41 am

    there were certainly problems with the contests but the places were definitely correct, sonya had at least 5 bowls left when i finished. It was a fun contest in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes sponsors have an idea of what a contest should be but don’t have any experiece or knowledge as to the best way to run a contest. We lobbied for 6 1 lb bowls but they were set on having a 4 oz scoop(volume not weight) in each bowl. The more plates and bowls the more problems with judging. Hopefully if they do it again next year they will give us each an unlimited amount of 1/2 gallon tubs for 8 minutes, i’d love to have a chance at eating 2+ gallons in 8 min.

  20. Anonymous said

    May 6, 2009 @ 2:47 am

    Don what amazes me more is that eaters who either have never won or who havent won in years are the first to make a statement like yours.

  21. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 6, 2009 @ 7:16 am

    Don I’m sure you’re right but in this instance none of the eaters are complaining —- JUST ME. Blame no one else.

    Anyway, I’m done with all that; my comments from here on will just be the standard, boring, “Good Job,” “Way to Go,” “Joey, Pat (whoever), you are amazing,” etc.

    I’ll pretend all’s well in fantasy land —-the “Utopia” that is Major League Eating. I’m done sticking my neck out.

    The eaters can either stick up for themselves by name or just suck it up and keep it all to themselves.

    So with that in mind, I just want to state: The infallible IFOCE is absolutely the best thing since the invention of the frankfurter, and all of the eaters are in hog-heaven.

    Joey, Pat, Koby, Bob, Tim, Sonya, Hall, Juliet, Erik, Legs, and all: best of luck in 2009 and next year, and may you never forget the privilege of being Major League eaters!

  22. I said

    May 6, 2009 @ 5:45 pm

    who is the new emcee?

  23. Don Lerman said

    May 6, 2009 @ 5:47 pm

    listen anon247 I lost many contests to top 5 ranked eaters because of poor judging and piss poor calls by judges but never won by anything other than my own merit and a clean call by the judges ,, those who have followed my carear know that I”M 110% right in what I say . I can name specific instances but theres not enough room on this page

  24. Anonymous said

    May 6, 2009 @ 7:34 pm

    He’s par for the course.

  25. Anonymous said

    May 6, 2009 @ 7:39 pm

    Pat thanks for reaffirming the placings in this one minute contest but what the hell happened to you in oysters? I hope you redeem yourself. I dont care for sissies who cant beat girls.

    Luther

  26. Don Lerman said

    May 6, 2009 @ 8:32 pm

    i said the new mc is bert parks

  27. Erik the Red said (Registered January 9, 2006)

    May 6, 2009 @ 10:15 pm

    Hi Rhonda – thanks for the wellwishes. When you defend eaters and eating in general I think everyone appreciates that who is involved. It’s hard for eaters who are in the contests to lash out or defend themselves because this obviously is an anonymous forum for the most part and doesn’t really serve us to do that (because I am not anonymous). It’s difficult to know that a good percentage of our biggest followers who post on this site are anonymous. I love competitive eating, I love the contests, I love the people, I love the fans, and I love watching and reading about other people eating, so I appreciate this forum for that purpose. It’s weird though that people such as yourself Rhonda and OJ are like ficticious characters (no one has ever met you). We’d all love to know who you are because I think every eater sincerely is humbled by the devout followers of competitive eating. It’s a strange world and we all have something in common.

  28. proofreader paul said

    May 6, 2009 @ 10:36 pm

    FYI

    Cowardess = Cowardice

  29. nic fry said

    May 6, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

    I totally agree Erik

  30. Badlands Booker said (Registered October 9, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 2:28 am

    Real Talk Erik. Well said!

  31. Badlands Booker said (Registered October 9, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 2:30 am

    -Yo, Who in the world is Rhonda Evans,
    -She awfully knows a lot about me
    -And who in the world is Bartholomew Pratt
    -I bet it ain’t the lawyer from the sun of fury!

    From the song “EatFeats” off my next album “Extended Play”

  32. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 7:32 am

    proofreader paul: You’re not the fish I had in mind, so I’m throwing you back in. (I certainly hope you have a real job unrelated to proofreading.)

    Badlands, thanks for including my name in your lyrics. I appreciate the thought, whether negative or positive.

    Don Lerman, let’s not lay blame on IFOCE judging. It’s state of the art (children’s art … read on).

    Erik … that was well stated. You, Badlands, Furious Pete, GJoe, Bryan, and the two Pats represent those few eaters who don’t post anonymously, and I sincerely appreciate your sincere, lucid comments, as well as your sentiment, which I share as a tremendous fan. To be honest, I recently added you to my short list of favorite eaters. You, Badlands, and Hall seem to set the example of great sportsmanship and honest eating contest after contest.

    I get very emotional when I detect the IFOCE not taking CE as seriously as the eaters. It’s just not fair. It’s not any one thing they do, it’s the myriad of indicators that I’ve detected over the years.

    But I’ll certainly give credit where credit is due. Without the IFOCE, CE as we know it today would be nonexistent. (Kobayashi is due about as much credit as the IFOCE in that regard.)

    Pat Bertoletti: I have no question that you clearly won—–no doubt whatsoever. (Anyone of average intelligence knew you would.). My sole point was to show that this contest was another example of how standards vary indiscriminantly among eaters, contest after contest.

    Stevie Adnor: There absolutely should not be anything “magical” about a set of rules. Rules are the foundation that all competitive events, whether they be sports or games, should be built on. Not having enforceable or consistent standards totally underminds the integrity of such events, the participants, and the organization that runs the events. It’s like building a house without a comprehensive plan or a solid foundation. It will fall.

    That’s my dilemma. The IFOCE receives and pays out decent money for top finishers in these events. As such, you’d think they’d care enough to apply consistent judging for all eaters and for all contests. But they don’t, because the only thing they take seriously is putting a dollar in their pockets.

    The IFOCE expects eater loyalty, but it is not reciprocated. Their hearts are as flimsy as the hats they wear.

    I don’t want to say these things. I wish things were different, but they aren’t.

  33. anonymous said

    May 7, 2009 @ 8:08 am

    I agree with Erik because until the anonymous names such as Rhonda actually do surface, they can A. Never be taken serious and B. Never get the true respect they deserve for the time and effort they put into this site. In Rhonda’s case its almost like a blind date that refuses to meet feeling more comfortable just chatting on the telephone.

  34. confused said

    May 7, 2009 @ 8:13 am

    So with that in mind, I just want to state: The infallible IFOCE is absolutely the best thing since the invention of the frankfurter, and all of the eaters are in hog-heaven.That’s my dilemma. The IFOCE receives and pays out decent money for top finishers in these events. As such, you’d think they’d care enough to apply consistent judging for all eaters and for all contests. But they don’t, because the only thing they take seriously is putting a dollar in their pockets.

    The IFOCE expects eater loyalty, but it is not reciprocated. Their hearts are as flimsy as the hats they wear.

    Rhonda in one instance you praise the IFOCE 2:47 am and a few comments later 7:32am you post negative remarks about the organization. I have one question Where is your head at????

  35. Rhonda Evans said

    May 7, 2009 @ 8:32 am

    Confused, don’t take my “nice” remarks out of context. They were said out of spite for reasons I won’t repeat here, but I stated yesterday. Today’s 7:32 post is too much writing not to be sincere.

    Hey, anonymous, that’s a hot one. You’ve (and all other anonymi) no credibility whatsoever to question MY identity. Even if I were fictitious, Rhonda Evans is Rhonda Evans. There’s only one, unlike the many anonymous jerks this site attracts.

  36. Stevie Adnor said (Registered October 31, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 8:52 am

    Ryan Nerz has left the building, and he will be sorely missed.

    The witty, talented, and genuinely personable man-of-many-hats has parted ways with the IFOCE.
    I only hope his future endeavors eclipse anything he has done in an already amazing career. His departure leaves a huge sucking void that won’t easily be filled by anyone anytime soon. One can only speculate how this will affect MLE operations, but I’m willing to wager that it won’t be good.

    Ryan’s “Eat This Book” was primarily the reason I became interested in competitive eating in the first place. He was more than gracious to sign my book and entertain my dumb newbie questions with patience and sincerity. Regardless of how busy as he seemed to be at the time, he always had time for a smile and kind word for those around him – and he seemed to know everyone.

    I got this from meeting the man once at a contest. Those of you who’ve had an ongoing relationship with him undoubtedly will be saddened by this. Good luck, Ryan.

  37. Badlands Booker said (Registered October 9, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 9:06 am

    Stevie, who told you Ryan has left the IFOCE?

  38. The Underminer said

    May 7, 2009 @ 9:37 am

    Rhonda, what the hell does “undermind” mean? You’re that stupid, aren’t you? You don’t even know that it’s underMINE.

  39. I said

    May 7, 2009 @ 10:26 am

    so if nerz is gone will eatfeats.com stop?!?

  40. Rhonda Evans said

    May 7, 2009 @ 10:42 am

    Undeminer, you’re correct. I can’t afford to correct typos or I’d never have enough time.

    But watch your tone JACKASS!

  41. anonymous said

    May 7, 2009 @ 10:47 am

    It’s obvious Nerz runs eatfeats the question is who will he pass the torch to?

  42. The Underminer said

    May 7, 2009 @ 11:04 am

    It wasn’t a typo.

  43. Stevie Adnor said (Registered October 31, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 11:26 am

    Badlands,

    It’s not important how I know. I don’t know very much, but I know what I know, and unlike so many here, I don’t make stuff up.

  44. I Hate Rhonda Club President said

    May 7, 2009 @ 11:47 am

    Rhonda probably thinks Undermind is the past tense of Undermine.

  45. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 12:03 pm

    Underminer, look at the keyboard.

    Secondly, this is a blog—-not a scholarly-reviewed journal article.

    Lastly, if you hang your ego on something that miniscule you need to crawl out from under your rock and get a life. There’s a big wide world out there. Take a bite out of it instead of letting it eat away at you.

    Is this sinking in at all?

  46. Underminer said

    May 7, 2009 @ 12:22 pm

    No, it’s not sinking in. You hang your ego on contributing worthless comments by the hour to a blog frequented by a couple of dozen people. It — What’s the word? Ah! — UNDERMINES your suggestion to me that I focus on something larger.

  47. I said

    May 7, 2009 @ 12:41 pm

    hey underminer you hang your ego on reading worthless comments by the hour to a blog frequented by a couple of dozen people

  48. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    May 7, 2009 @ 12:47 pm

    From these savage blows I may NEVER recover. You young turks are brutal. I love it!

    Hit me even harder you cyber studs!

  49. Underminer said

    May 7, 2009 @ 12:53 pm

    Young Turks is a poor choice of metaphors.

    But you had to use it, didn’t you? Just to show off some knowledge. Didn’t matter if it was appropriate or not.

  50. Anonymous said

    May 7, 2009 @ 2:09 pm

    Underminer you are a fucking moron!

  51. Anonymous said

    May 7, 2009 @ 2:15 pm

    This portion of eatfeats needs to be shut down. This entire thread is nonconstructive and full of mindless rumors. I used to enjoy reading the comments but now I’m sick of it.

  52. Ghost of Castellano said

    May 7, 2009 @ 2:48 pm

    This is getting hot & heavy! I haven’t been on this site for a while, seems like I’m missing out! Too bad for CE that Nerz is not around anymore, (so it has been said), he was, without a doubt, the great pulse of CE. He put his heart and sole into it, not to mention that fantastic intellect. I’ve travelled around the country with him and back, from metropolitans to the back woods of the Dakotas. A great companion and friend. A huge loss. As far as the rules are concerned, setting a time limit is essential to avoiding big problems. The sponsor needs to have enough food for that. 1st one to finish will raise an issue everytime!!! After 10+ yrs you think they would have relized this by now. The new MC is obviosly “green”, but we have all been there. Ask Badlands about the Sykesville apple dumpling eating competition back in 2002. Talk abouut green. Good luck to the new MC’s, big shoes to fill. The days of Nerz and Castellano tearing up the CE stage, and the town l8er the same night are over. Good nightCarlene! BTW Spelling is not that important here! who cares? stop taking up space with that shit.

  53. Underminer said

    May 7, 2009 @ 3:50 pm

    I am awesome.

RSS feed for comments on this post

Leave a Comment

Log in | Register | Comments by users who have not logged in will be held for approval