"Humble" Bob Wins Meatballs in Controversial Ruling

It's been a rough year for Sonya. Just as she was recovering from her second place world ranking being overtaken by Joey Chestnut, she was bumped to fourth place by Pat Bertoletti. It used to be she represented a certain level of excellence in eating skill, one that few could touch. But something must be in the lemonade, because one by one, the pros have been stepping up their game and it's no longer a sure thing who will walk away with the trophy and giant check at these competitions.

This year's meatball competition, held at Carmine's in Atlantic City, could have been Sonya's chance to redeem herself and hold onto one of the titles she was most proud of. Or would it go to Joey, who seemed the likely winner? Or would Pat Bertoletti show up last minute and pound them all? There was the newcomer to consider, Juliet Lee, an ameteur off the pizza circuit who would represent the first (real) female with pro goals to join the IFOCE table in a long time. And what about the slew of others in the top rankings who also seem to get better with each contest? Would this be a breakout performance for one of them?

As it turns out, it was "Humble" Bob Shoudt's turn to shine, winning the competition with 9.97 pounds of meatballs. The controversy came during the weighing, where Sonya actually looked like she had won by only a tenth of an ounce. But, this year in particular, the judges have been stern about applying rules about prolonged dunking and messiness. After surveying the eaters' places, a one ounce deduction was taken from Sonya and from Joey for excess debris, leaving Bob in the lead. When George Shea announced the deduction and awarded Sonya second place, she stood with her arms crossed and simply said, "It's not fair." Much cheering greeted Bob as he came out to accept 1st prize. Humble as always, he reached out his hand to congratulate Sonya, but she turned away--arms still crossed--and stalked off stage. The crowd interpreted this as bad sportsmanship on Sonya's part and started booing her. Quick to remind the crowd of what they should be focusing on, Joey came over to hug Bob, while 4th place winner Chip Simpson raised Bob's arm in triumph and encouraged the crowd to cheer for him. Video can be seen on Beautiful Brian's site.

Usually after a competition, eaters are told to scrape any remaining pieces of food onto their plates so an accurate total can be weighed. While the IFOCE claims this was done, it's unclear why they didn't make sure each eaters' place was clean before weighing the plate. Taking deductions taken after the plates are weighed seemed to cause problems that could have been easily averted.

In any case, this was a well-earned victory for Bob, and we were lucky enough to snag a few words with the humble one after his big win.

1st Bob Shoudt 9.97 lbs, $2500
2nd Sonya Thomas 9.91 lbs, $1000
3rd Joey Chestnut 9.35 lbs, $750
4th Chip Simpson 9.23 lbs, $500
5th Rich LeFevre 9.03 lbs, $250
6th Tim Janus 8.93 lbs
7th Juliet Lee 5.53 lbs
8th Allen Goldstein 4.96 lbs
9th Seaver Miller 4.75 lbs
10th Pat Philbin 4.73 lbs
11th Crazy Legs Conti 4.71 lbs
12th Bill Myers 3.83 lbs
13th Larry McNeil 3.77 lbs
14th Kevin Lipsitz 3.34 lbs
15th Pete Davekos 3.32 lbs
16th Brian Seiken 2.73 lbs
17th John Bulin 2 lbs

TrueFan: First off, how did it feel to come in first place?

Humble Bob: I felt stuffed. That was the most stuffed that I have ever felt.

TF: The placing was controversial; did you know you were going to come in first after you finished eating, or were you waiting with everyone else to learn the results?

HB: George said that I was leading through the first plate (6 lb) and through the 2nd (2 lb) so I knew that I had to be in the mix at the end. Like any food that has to be weighed, you never know till all of the results are in

TF: Usually, they have everyone clean up their areas, scooping detritus onto their plates before weighing. Was this not done at this competition? It seems like it would have given you a cleaner win instead of seeming like they were penalizing Sonya.

HB: Everyone was told to clean up their area after the contest. I cleaned up mine but I can not speak for any others. I was spending 100% of my time trying to find a position that was less uncomfortable then the others. I didn't really speak to or look at other eaters while on stage. I was just trying to find "my happy place."

TF: How did you feel about Sonya's reaction when you offered her your hand?

HB: I was in so much discomfort afterwards that I did not realize all that was going on. Sonya has always been a great competitor and has been super supportive of me from the day that we meet. She obviously had her concerns. I took this as absolutely no slight to me. She is every bit as much of a friend and competitor to me today as she was before this contest.

TF: How were the meatballs this year? Did you employ any different strategies from last year?

HB: The meatballs seemed like they were slower then last year. They seemed colder and less moist. My goal was 10 lbs before the start and after the first meatball, I knew that it would be tough to get. My strategy this year was the same as last year - eat as many meatballs
as I could.

TF: What was Joey's reaction to coming in third after he's been finishing so strongly?

HB: To me he is the same Joey that he always is. He is a guy that loves the sport and the competition. He shows up and gives it his all. He did not win but that did not mean he was not happy. You can see from the different videos the sincere congratulations he extended to me
after the contest. He is a good guy and if anyone deserved the nickname "Humble" it would be him.

TF: How did Juliet do? Were people welcoming to a new female pro?

HB: I think Juliet did well for her first pro event. I think she was every bit as welcomed as every other eater. The CE community is really a big family and everyone welcomed her into it.

TF: Anything else you'd like to add?

HB: This was another event in which both of my parents attended. They also were there when I set the Shoofly pie record. I think that I must do better when they are both there. Maybe they could both come to Wing Bowl this year so I can win two cars!

TF: What will you spend the prize money on?

HB: My wife and I have our eye on a 15 acre "ranch" in Argentina. It is a nice area with lush vegetation and 3 buildings. A main house, a small guest house (that needs much work) and the barn. Believe it or not this will give us our 20% down payment that most foreign nationals need to get a mortgage. Most people do not pay it off outright as we really will only get to spend 3 - 4 weeks there a year for quite sometime. It is a beautiful country though. Now if I could just get the IFOCE to have some contests down there, I could write of the travel on my taxes...