SOME THINGS
NEVER CHANGE
With a headline such as "some things never change" one would get the impression , "There goes Seiken bitter about
something else so what else is new? I just cant sit back without addressing certain issues that others are afraid to
discuss.
Although many people will never admit to it , they appreciate my brutal honesty because they think the same way
only difference is they keep their opinions to themselves while i express them in print.. Just because i say that some
things never change, doesn't mean i am tired of Sonya winning the Buffalo wing eating contest 5yrs in a row.
If i was Joey
Chestnut it might be a different story but im not even in his league or her league for that matter. Buffalo has always been
a good town. The people in Buffalo are good people friendly people. You get the sense of euphoria when looking down at
the crowd from the stage.
They embrace the sport of competitive eating the same way crowds embrace a famous rock band
when they are getting ready to hit the stage. You have to be there to understand where i am coming from. "Badlands
Badlands" "Sonya Sonya" Joey Joey" .
Joey Chestnut could probably get laid with the snap of his finger. Women in the
crowd were practically throwing themselves at him. The same can be said for Sonya. The men love her but women love her
even more. . Before Buffalo Wingfest OJ Simpson and Jim Kelley were the only two big names that carried the city.
Aside
from being a few miles north of Niagra Falls, Buffalo has never been a tourist attraction. The town is virtually dead
throughout the year and most of the time its freezing cold. But thanks to Drew Cerza the people of Buffalo have a reason
to celebrate during the Labor Day weekend.
The IFOCE decided around 9yrs ago that they were going to put all their eggs in
one basket and make Badlands Booker the main center of attraction as far as the entertainment aspect of the sport. It was
nice and refreshing but IFOCE doesn't know when to move on.
After a few years it started to get redundant. It didnt stop in
Buffalo, . No matter which state he competes in, he's up there rapping. Even during Elvis 75th birthday they just couldnt
resist getting him on stage for one rap. That in my opinion was somewhat arrogant.
. If you insist on taking the stage during
the Kings sliver anniversary, then the least you can do is mention the mans name in the rap song Without revealing names
several times during his stage performances, a few people have told me in confidence, "How much longer do we have to
put up with this" .
First off its not my show and second if George Shea thinks Badlands rapping works for him, then its
obviously a formula he doesn't want to tamper with. I notice that in Buffalo as opposed to Coney, Booker has a lot more
freedom and alot more time to display his talents.
In Buffalo its like every time George has the opportunity "Hey lets bring
the big man up on stage for another rap" If Booker were given the opportunity, he would rap for 8 hrs plus without taking a
break. I have watched him rap in front of thousands , i have also watched him rap in front of 5 people or sometimes none.
Juliet Lee approached me before the start of the Buffet Bowl while Booker was on stage "Brian why dont they let you sing
on stage" I just shook my head and replied "Im not on their agenda" and walked away politely. My personal opinion?
Maybe
you dont want to hear it. All i can say is the IFOCE hasn't a clue as to which direction they want to go from a musical
standpoint, so the safest bet is to stick with what they have. I never implied they should dump Booker and move on to
something else, but a change of pace every once in a while (like Elvis) would be a breath of fresh air.
3 yrs ago i released a
CD titled "Stick to Blogging" which was a parody of songs relating to the sport of CE. It went nowhere. Ryan Nerz reviewed
the CD on the IFOCE website and that was that A few weeks after its release , one of the principles in MLE had an idea to
put together some sort of movie based on the CD but it never materialized.
We met on the idea which included myself, Dave
Baer, George & Rich Shea and some independent film maker. Baer was gung ho, Rich could care less but George was
apprehensive . Nobody got back to me on the project which is typical of them. Unless someone could convince him
otherwise, George Shea is content with Badlands Booker and his rap music till the day he dies.
Now that we got the media
stuff out of the way, back to the Buffalo fest. There were reports that after the Buffet bowl contest had concluded , one
eater was still eating after the bell.Since i am a virtual table ender and the eater in question was furthest from my view, i
was unable to make that determination.
I do know that i ate a substantial amount of buffet food only to be told by George
Shea to spit some of it out in my tray if i am unable to swallow within 30 seconds. After the wing contest i had enough debris
in my mouth to classify as a "softball" I could have easily tossed it into the crowd, or roll it under the table but i did the
honest thing and placed it in my tray.
If i chose to do just the opposite , there would have been a 3 way tie with Reeves
Subich and myself at 3lbs a piece. I had no problem with sptting it back in my tray . I have never been accused of cheating
nor do i intend to be labeled as such. For the first time in my career i was two spots away from Joey Chestnut at the table.
As much as Ive ragged on his personality in the past, he is a true master of the sport. He was credited for 170 some odd
wings? He must have cleaned 95% of them. He doesn't eat messy and he doesn't cheat. Besides Kobayashi he's the best in
the business as far as im concerned.
Aaron Ostoff cleaned his first tray to near perfection and can only get better with
more experience. Sonya Thomas ? What can i tell you ? The last time i had the opportunity to compete right next to her was
a chicken mcnugget exhibition during halftime of the NY Liberty basketball game in MSG back in July 2004.
She is a master
at Wings and because of that, deserves every perk or freebie thrown her way. I love competing in Buffalo i love the people
the atmosphere and Drew Cerza. The only thing i hate about Buffalo is the drive back to NYC in the dark . The roads are
dangerous during the evening hrs especially I -81 and 380 south due to poor lighting and if you just happen to get stuck in
a rainstorm well Good luck and pray for you will certainly need it !