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BURP! Marshall's first professional eating contest goes down smoothly
Monday, July 24, 2006
By William R. Wood
Only two words escaped the lips of contestant Chuck ``The Chomper'' Davidson of Chicago at the conclusion of the first World Reuben Eating Championship in Marshall: ``Man, full.''
Ten yards away at the rear of the competitors' table, the contest winner, Mark Lyle, of Columbus, Ohio, stood bent over with legs wide apart and hands on knees like a sprinter after a race.
Lyle had eaten three-and-three-quarters-worth of Reuben sandwiches in eight minutes. The sandwiches were 3 inches thick and weighed about three-fourths of a pound each.
Lyle won by a quarter of a sandwich, besting challenger Chris ``The American'' Schlesinger, who ate three-and-a-half Reubens.
During the July 15 contest, Lyle stood as he ate, quaffing down red Gatorade with every few bites. Having analyzed the best way to eat the sandwich, he rotated his half-sandwiches in a continuous circular motion, chomping off bits as he turned the Reuben so he could eat the crust of the toasted bread first -- the hardest part of the sandwich to eat.
There's a reason Lyle calls himself the ``Human Vacuum.''
``He's like a machine,'' said one spectator, close to the orange tape that separated the 400 spectators from the competitors' table.
The event was one of the first eating contests in the region sanctioned by the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters, a professional eating organization. It is also part of a growing phenomenon, a competitive eating trend that has been covered on the Food Channel, ESPN and Fox TV network and has spawned two new books, ``The Horsemen of the Esophagus,'' by Jason Fagone, and ``Eat This Book,'' by Ryan Nerz.
Competitive eaters down everything from hot dogs, chicken wings, pizza and sweet corn to pickles, doughnuts, chili and fried cicadas.
Mike Caron, owner of Pastrami Joe's, 105 N. Jefferson St., Marshall, organized the contest to promote his business -- the Reuben is his restaurant's specialty -- and to raise money for the Child Advocacy Center of Calhoun County. At the end of the contest, Caron estimated the event raised about $2,500 for the organization.
Caron's said he also hoped the event would bring greater attention to The Marshall Blues Festival, which was taking place the same day, and in the same area as the eating contest, at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Michigan Avenue in the heart of downtown Marshall.
Surrounding roads were blocked off to traffic. Signs attached to an orange tape in front of the elevated competitors' table read ``Don't Feed the Animals'' and ``Keep Hands Away From Animals.''
Spectators, mostly on foot, formed a thick arc around the competitors' table, which had no shelter. At about 2 p.m. when the contest began, the 94-degree heat was so intense that several spectators said they could feel the sizzle of the black-topped road through their shoes.
The event included two five-minute heats for the amateur eaters and one eight-minute heat for the professional eaters. Fourteen amateur eaters participated, seven in each amateur heat. Most were area residents.
There were six professional eaters from throughout the Midwest -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan. Lou Giannunzio, director of development for the Southwest Regional Rehabilitation Center of Battle Creek and former superintendent of the Marshall Public Schools, judged the contest.
Each of the Reubens in the contest contained five ounces of corned beef, four ounces of sauerkraut, two one-ounce slices of imported Swiss cheese, one-and-a-half ounces of Russian dressing and two slices of toasted rye bread. The sandwiches, usually served piping hot, were allowed to cool to room temperature so eaters could handle them more easily.
Participants wore casual T-shirts and shorts except for Battle Creek Enquirer columnist ``Cranky Bob'' Warner, of Portage, an amateur eater. He showed up wearing a hooded terry-cloth robe over his shirt and shorts, giving him a boxer look.
During the contest, Warner tore off bits of his Reuben sandwiches and stuffed them inside his roomy red tropical shirt when the judge wasn't paying attention. As he stood up from his seat at the close of his heat, the food stored in his shirt fell to the table.
``Cheater!'' yelled a little girl, a spectator who may have believed Warner's antics were real.
The trophy for first place in the amateur division went to Jake Casey of Michigan.
The professional heat was a more serious affair as first-, second- and third-place prizes were $500 and a trophy, $250, and $100 respectively. The professionals also ate their sandwiches about twice as fast as the amateurs.
Lyle, the winner, was a favorite going into the competition, as he already had awards for eating meatballs, chicken wings and sweet corn.
He went into the contest weighing 210 pounds. Afterward, he weighed 220 pounds, he said.