New Poll: top 3 US eaters

March 18, 2007 at 10:08 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:Site News

The new poll asks if you think Pat has done enough to grasp the #1 US ranking from Joey and who do you think should be ranked #3.

Comments (18)

18 Comments »

  1. Bubba said (Registered January 8, 2006)

    March 18, 2007 @ 12:19 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPzopHNbuWM

    I found this parody cartoon of Kobayashi. I think its pretty funny.

  2. Rhonda Evans said

    March 19, 2007 @ 12:07 pm

    Okay, everyone who visits here knows I have a Sonya bias. Taking that as a given, Sonya does make a very good point on her Home page and reaffirms what I have said all along: There needs to be more contests of at least 12 minutes.

    Short sprints are grossly overrepresented and eaters that primarily excel in the longer events, to include Rich, Tim, and Sonya are virtually never able to display one of the most important, if not THE most important, components of competitive eating: stomach capacity.

    Have you ever seen Sonya, Tim, or Rich totally spent at the end of a contest, whereby they couldn’t eat another bite? I haven’t. What is that boundary? That question has never been answered!

    With the absence of the Barrick Burger contest, coupled with MLE eaters not being allowed to participate in eating challenges, there are currently no events on the books which enable stomach capacity-unchallenged eaters to exhibit that asset.

    This is a travesty and an oversight in the sport which needs to be fixed, and with a speedeating sense of urgency! Sonya has already taken the lead in addresing this on her Web site.

    Rich and Tim, if you’re reading this, jump on this train and don’t let the caboose hit you guys in the ass! I’m trying to help your cause too!

  3. Bubba said (Registered January 8, 2006)

    March 19, 2007 @ 12:12 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPzopHNbuWM

  4. Rhonda Evans said

    March 19, 2007 @ 1:29 pm

    Bubba OJ posted that about 3 months ago. It is amusing.

  5. Bubba said (Registered January 8, 2006)

    March 19, 2007 @ 1:47 pm

    Damn just when I though I found something original!!

    Darn you OOOOOOOOOOOJJJJJJJJJJJJJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  6. Locust said

    March 19, 2007 @ 1:51 pm

    Rhonda, I would love to participate in longer contests as you are well aware (and I’m sure everyone else is as well) because it is obvious that I just don’t have the capability to process food (chewy foods in particular) nearly as quickly as the other top eaters and never will (even if I trained as hard as they do). You’re correct that I rarely feel spent after a contest and would like to keep going (Sonya, Tim, Hall Hunt and a few other eaters probably feel the same way) but as much as I would like it to change, it is highly doubtful that it will. It would take a lot more patience from all parties to have longer contests and that seems to be a trait that is in short supply. Besides, these young guys like Pat and Joey are capable of reaching near capacity levels in record breaking times which is probably more exciting than watching an old war horse like me plow through 6 or 7 whole pizzas at Cici’s in an hours time eating at a far more relaxed pace.

    That’s why it is so satisfying when there is a contest that doesn’t involve much chewing where other talents come into play besides who can swallow the most food the quickest. My capacity did come into play in the chili contest and also the last jalapeno contest where I ate 247 in 8 minutes and washed them down with nearly a gallon of chocolate milk. I really felt the playing field was leveled that day and it would come down to other elements not seen in most contests like technique, mental toughness and capacity. The only way capacity can come into play is if you are able to go well over 10 pounds within the time limit and that can only occur for me with soft foods. Even when I ate the 5 lb. birthday cake, I washed it down with more than 5 pounds of water to get it down quicker.

  7. ? said

    March 19, 2007 @ 1:56 pm

    Gotta disagree here.

    It’s not Competitive Capacity…. it’s competitive eating.

    While there’s room for longer contests, I like them just the way they are!

  8. Rhonda Evans said

    March 19, 2007 @ 2:24 pm

    I hope the Sheas read this …

    Rich thanks for the feedback. I hope you believe me when I say that I am really ecstatic when I have a direct response from someone of your stature. I am a peon who graciously picks up kernels of recognition anyway I can. Thanks.

    Rich, and Menchetti will disagree with me when I say this, he already has, but I feel I have a most valid point. It is far, far less boring to watch someone eat, even an “old warhorse” like you, for a mere 20 or 30 minutes than it is to watch 500 laps of cars going around and around and around on an oval track for 2 hours, or to watch basketball players go back and forth and back and forth on a court for 2 hours or more, repeating the same goal of scoring a bucket over and over and over. Hockey may be even more boring.

    Also, people don’t realize that longer contests incorporate most all of the elements that make a great competitive eater, which are stomach capacity, eating strategy, jaw strength, and even hand speed and swallowing speed (as Sonya would say) to a small degree, especially towards the end of a close contest.

    To me, excelling in the longer contests are more indicative of CE talent than short ones. It doesn’t take a lot of strategy or intelligence for a person to cram food as fast as one can for 6 or 8 minutes. Animals do it all the time. I know my dog does.

    So Rich, regardless of the rankings, I have the most respect for people like yourself who can go the distance. Keep up the great work and thanks for your words.

  9. Rhonda Evans said

    March 19, 2007 @ 2:26 pm

    If Rhonda were allowed to rank the American eaters, heaven forbid: (This was placed in the wrong thread originally. Sorry for the repetition.)

    1. Joey Chestnut is the biggest threat to Kobayashi.
    2. Pat Bertoletti is quickly closing the gap on Joey.
    3. Sonya Thomas has over 2 dozen records, so she’s done somethng right, and she is perhaps the best distance eater in the world. We may never know, but I’d damn sure put my money on her.
    4. Tim Janus’ 12-month moving average trendline is definitely on the upturn.
    5. Chip Simpson is a speed demon. He also has the potential to eat 40 hot dogs. And if he can eat 40 dogs, why not 70+ Krystals.
    6. Rich LeFevre beat Pat in Jalapeno Peppers not so long ago and has eight world records.
    7. Bob Shoudt seems to have hit a wall in 2007. His 12- month moving average is on ebb tide.
    8. Eric Booker is back and can still probably eat close to 30 dogs.
    9. Crazy Legs Conti is slowly but surely getting better, though there is a talent gap separating Booker and Conti. (Though it doesn’t count in the rankings, he was very impressive on Spike TV.)
    10. Dale Boone is a proven winner in the short game.

  10. Rhonda Evans said

    March 19, 2007 @ 2:35 pm

    ? Said, you are entitled to your opinion, but you display a lack of vision. You like the contests the way they are because that’s all you have to go by.

    The sport is young and ripe for change, not for the sake of change but for a methodology of better capturing CE talent. It would be unfair to the sport and to eaters and fans as well not to explore other options. The “It’s always been that way” attitude is a cop out.

    One thing you did get right is that it is COMPETITIVE eating. It is not the IFOSE. There is no “S” in the title which stands for speed. It is a “C” for competition.

    Competition incorporates stomach capacity as well as speed. Or it should. I say it has not done it in a satisfactory manner.

  11. ? said

    March 19, 2007 @ 9:53 pm

    You rant and rant….

    I said there’s “room for longer contests.”

    And if you want to go the racing analogy route, then we could compare a longer time limit competition to the 24 hours of Lemans, and medium level contests could be the Daytona 500, and a short competition would be everyone’s local racetrack on a Friday or Saturday night.

  12. Anonymous said

    March 20, 2007 @ 1:25 am

    What are you talking about ? Good that your comments are few ? because you make no sense.

  13. Rhonda Evans said

    March 20, 2007 @ 8:09 am

    ? I got it. Sorry for ranting. I will give you more credit because that racing analogy helps underscore my point. I appreciate it.

  14. anonymous said

    March 20, 2007 @ 8:46 am

    i hope Booker does the civil service contest

  15. anonymous said

    March 20, 2007 @ 9:03 am

    Like an “athlete” in real sports, (it is amazing when a baseball player GOES to a game he is not involved in) I find it difficult to watch CE. After a MINUTE or two i’m bored. Even the televised “majors”

    At the Daytona 500 there is always the possibility of a crash. In eating the only comparable thing is a reversal. Most of us are professional enough that if we do need to release, we do so privately.

    I’m going by anonymous here, but I think its fairly obvious who I am.

    If it wasn’t for aice’s shorter contests, I think the ifoce would move to those & will. Like wrestling, it will be (when televised) about personas, style & match ups. That’s the beauty of a Dale Boone. Everyone else wants to be loved. He seems to relish being a bad guy & makes the activity better from his persona, definitely not from his eating prowess. Its why Conti is so known. Like most things in society these days, its style not substance, stupid!

  16. Rhonda Evans said

    March 20, 2007 @ 11:22 am

    Style and substance are on a continuum. There is surely always room for style, but not at the expense of substance. When that happens you have something that begins to approximate a freak show.

    And if you get bored at only a minute or two of eating, that’s because, if you’re a fan, you’re not really much of a fan of CE. Or if you’re an eater, then a couple of minutes is all you can tolerate.

    If I want to see competitive eating in that light, for speed only, I have a great one in my collie.

  17. Anonymous said

    March 20, 2007 @ 8:16 pm

    The civil service contest belongs to Seiken I thought so Booker must find something else. Right?

    Luther

  18. Gentleman Joe said

    March 20, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

    How does civil service belong to Seiken? He claimed to ‘officially retire from hot dogs’ I don’t think he even eats them for pleasure or sustenance anymore.

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