Pat Bertoletti Burns Up Atlanta

The Atlanta qualifier, one of three that took place on Saturday, turned out to be quite an event. Not only was Pat Bertoletti attending after unexpectedly losing to Chip Simpson in Minnesota, but the notorious bad boy of competitive eating, Dale "Mouth of the South" Boone (known for his smack talk and cow bell-ringing), showed up, marking his return from a sabbatical in India. Additionally, Hall Hunt came in to make his final bid at the wild card slot and eat against Larry "The Legend" McNeil and Loren "Bubba" Yarbrough. This was one jam-packed event! Perhaps given the amount of people and the antics that ensued, it was fitting that the qualifier was held at the Atlanta Zoo.

Pat Bertoletti, who was determined to sit at the big table at Coney, ate 33 HDBs to win (one more than he ate in Minnesota). At this rate, it's looking like he'll place strongly on the 4th.

We got to talk to Georgia local, "Bubba" Yarbrough, who gave us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the last qualifiers of the year.

Who attended this qualifier?

The participants included Larry The Legend, Patrick Bertoletti, Sam Vise, Super Paul Barlow, The Hangman (?), Hall Hunt, and some guy dressed like the Pope.

Talk to us a bit about the return of Dale Boone and the effect of his appearance at this qualifier.

Dale Boone usual turned the event into the Dale Boone show, he hurled insults and threats at myself, Pat, and Chip Simpson, who was there as a guest judge. Verbal barbs were thrown, but mostly he was ignored.

Did you feel good coming into this competition? Did you train?

Going into the event I felt like a million bucks; I was hungry and focused. My training regiment had been abbreviated so I didn't get as much training time as I would have liked, but I still felt good.

Tell us something funny or unusual that happened during this qualifier.

The funniest things that happened, unfortunately, revolved around Dale Boone. Pat Bertoletti, in response to Dale talking smack in the previous week, had prepared for Dale to show his ass. Pat turned the tables on Dale and dressed up in overalls ringing a cow bell, all the while dragging Dale in effigy up to the stage. He then held up the Dale doll by a hangman's noose as the crowd cheered. Larry "The Legend" held up a homemade sign that read "Boone+Hotdogs=Reversal" The crowd was booing Dale the whole time he was going into his antics. Also an eater dressed up in a really good Pope costume.

Any predictions about what will happen at Coney Island? Is this the year Kobayashi will be unseated?

I predict the Pat Bertoletti will eat over 40 on July 4th. The guy didn't even break a sweat and it looked like he was cruising at the end he made it look easy. I will also predict that Joey Chestnut will win the contest by 3 hot dogs, as I have said all along.

Last question:

Neither, I go commando!!