In a week I leave for a long Fourth of July weekend in New York. If you know me at all or if you’ve followed my blog even remotely closely, you can probably guess the primary purpose for the trip: the Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest.
It will be my seventh time at the contest since 2008, including that one time I actually managed to eat on the big stage. This year I’ll be in the press box, though there’s a huge part of me that wishes I would be eating. I thought hard about trying to earn a spot again, I wanted to try, but I couldn’t afford to go to travel to any of the qualifiers. Plus, let’s face it, I kind of really suck at competitive eating.
There also was a big part of me that wished I could have eaten again at the Ribmania ribs eating contest at Ribfest Chicago last weekend. But, again, I kind of really suck. And because I kind of really suck I was wait listed, twice removed, so two people would have had to have dropped out for me to compete.
And I wouldn’t have wanted anyone there to drop out.
After all, amongst the eaters on stage, Miki Sudo won the contest two years in a row, Michelle Lesco was the reigning champion, and Adrian Morgan took home the trophy.
And I got to take photos from below. Where I’m probably more at home.
Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sam MCs | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sean Nichols | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Andrew Kogutkiewicz | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sean Nichols | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sean Nichols | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Andrew Kogutkiewicz | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Andrew Kogutkiewicz | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Andrew Kogutkiewicz | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sean Nichols | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sam MCs | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Juan Rodriguez | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sam MCs | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco and Miki Sudo | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Sam MCs | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Erik Denmark | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Michelle Lesco | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Gideon Oji | Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Competitive eaters await the results of Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Competitive eaters await the results of Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
Adrian Morgan wins Ribmania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago
RibMania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago.
Bucket List Idea: Watch an Eating Contest. | RibMania Ribs Eating Contest at Ribfest Chicago.
Hi, I'm Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the kitten. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and traveled for three years. Now I'm back in Chicago, decorating my apartment in all the teal, petting my cats, and planning my next adventure.
