“After experiencing the [Nathan's] contest the last three years and the Krystal [Square Off] finals the last three years, I would say that Krystal is now our Super Bowl.  I know other eaters that are saying the same thing.  It doesn’t really matter though as everyone has their own opinion.  Regardless, they are both still our big two events.  I think you all know which one I would prefer to win. Give me a K - R - Y - S - T -A - L.”

- Competitive eater “Humble” Bob Shoudt, on the Krystal hamburger eating contest vs. Nathan’s Hot Dog eating competition.

*Image courtesy of Valerie Bromann via www.humblebob.com

First it was Joey Chestnut winning Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest…again.

Now, Takeru Kobayashi appears to be back on track with a win over Chestnut in Singapore yesterday.

Next up for the goliath gurgitators…the Krystal Square Off V in Chattanooga on September 28.  We’ll announce the qualifying dates, prize money and more info soon - so check back.

And to read more about yesterday’s Chestnut vs. Kobayashi match up,  including Kobayashi’s “sex symbol” status, check out the AP story in the LA Times.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a story online Friday about local competitive eaters Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough, Paul Barlow and Larry McNeil practicing for the upcoming qualifying rounds of the Krystal Square Off V.

The eating trio are all hoping to make it to this year’s final table in Chattanooga on September 28, so they participated in a 2-minute round at a local Krystal in Atlanta.

Each put up a good showing as Yarbrough and McNeil easily downed the 15 Krystals they started with while Barlow left only four on the table.

We have to say, Yarbrough and Barlow are definitely making the eating rounds this summer.  If you’ll remember, they recently competed in a bacon eating contest against a local radio show host.

We hope all the practicing will pay off.

See the entire AJC article here, which goes on to discuss how they entered the world of competitive eating and what their families think about their sport.

Also, be sure to check back with us tomorrow as we’ll share the full-length feature along with photos of the eating practice round at Krystal, which are scheduled to run in Tuesday’s paper.

And don’t forget to visit the Krystal Square Off website for any information regarding local qualifying rounds.

Our friend and Krystal hamburger competitive eater Hall “Hoover” Hunt posted the results for the most recent Major Leauge Eating Poll today on his blog.  These rankings take into account the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest, making the results pretty interesting.

Krystal Square Off champion Joey Chestnut remains in first place, however, three-time Krystal hamburger eating king Takeru Kobayashi has now moved up two places to take second (he was previously ranked fourth).  The move-up by Kobayashi bumps Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti down to third place.  Tim “Eater X” Janus moves up one spot to take fourth, and Sonja “The Black Widow” Thomas, someone we haven’t heard a lot about lately, jumps two spots to round out the top five.

You can see the entire Top 25 list on Hunt’s blog.

Looking at today’s rankings is making us that much more excited about this year’s Krystal Square Off V.

Anyone want to go ahead and throw out their predictions for this year’s top place finishers?

Remember to stay tuned for information on how to qualify for this year’s final table on September 28 in Chattanooga, TN.  You can also check out www.krystalsquareoff.com for the latest Krystal Square Off news.

We saw a link to this story over at Eatfeats and had to investigate.

Earlier this month, Zakk Tyler of The Zakk Tyler Morning Show on Dave FM in Atlanta competed against Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough and “Super Paul Bone Breaker Big Mouth Barlow” (two Krystal hamburger competitive eaters) in a bacon eating contest.

Apparently, Tyler is a huge fan of bacon and wanted to compete head-to-head against the pros to see who could guzzle down the most gristle.

You can watch a video of the contest over at CBS 46 and Fox Good Day Atlanta, as both were in-studio to cover the contest. You can also check out Tyler’s blog here.

The results are what you’d expect with Yarbrough taking first, Super Paul coming in second and Tyler finishing last.

However, despite his poor showing, we’re wondering if Tyler has been bitten with the competitive eating bug. If so, he has some time to practice before qualifying for the Krystal Square Off V begins.

In fact Tyler, if you are interested, we can probably arrange to have some bacon put on those Krystal burgers for you. Just let us know.

*photo courtesy of Dave FM

On a side note: Congrats to Jason Jennette who correctly guessed the Krystal dot logo was used from 1978 to 1981 or ‘82(ish). Jason, we’ll have our intern dig through our closet for some swag to send you.

Courtesy of KrystalSquareOff.com

The top competitive eaters in the world now know the date when they will face off for the title of world hamburger-eating champion.  Announced today, the  Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship will take place on September 28, 2008, and will once again be held along the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn. A major in the sport of competitive eating, Krystal Square Off V is the only world hamburger-eating championship sanctioned by Major League Eating.

Last year, Krystal Square Off IV attracted a live audience of more than 10,000 people to the Chattanooga Riverfront where they witnessed Joey Chestnut devour 103 Krystal burgers in eight minutes. Chestnut’s mark shattered the previous world-record of 97 Krystals set by three-time Krystal Square Off champion Takeru Kobayashi in 2006.

With Kobayashi back to reclaim his throne and eaters like “Humble” Bob Shoudt, Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti and Tim “Eater X” Janus gaining ground on the two eating legends, Krystal Square Off V is expected to draw competitive eating fans from all across North America and as far away as Japan to watch firsthand what many now refer to as the Super Bowl of competitive eating.

On top of the excitement provided by the sport’s top tier of professionals, it will now become easier for amateur hopefuls across the South to qualify for the nationally-televised Krystal Square Off and compete against the world’s best. All details of the revamped Krystal Square Off Qualifying Tour, including how to qualify, will be announced shortly along with the prize purse for Krystal Square Off V.

Courtesy of KrystalSquareOff.com:

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which takes place this Friday, July 4, is often referred to as “The Super Bowl of Competitive Eating,” but if you ask champion competitive eater “Humble” Bob Shoudt what he thinks, he’ll say the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship is the competition most eaters consider to be the “big one.”

“My focus is on the Super Bowl of competitive eating - the Krystal Square Off V,” Shoudt told the Philadelphia Inquirer, just moments after qualifying for the Nathan’s finals. “This is the contest that most competitive eaters agree is the big one.”

The fifth-ranked eater in the world, Shoudt finished second at last year’s Krystal Square Off World Championship, consuming 95 Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes and finishing just behind the number-one ranked eater in the world Joey Chestnut, whose mark of 103 Krystal burgers established a new world record.

With Chestnut looking to repeat as champion and three-time Krystal Square Off champion Takeru Kobayashi, whose personal record is 97 Krystal burgers, back in the mix, the top spots will be hotly contested at this year’s nationally televised championship. The Krystal Square Off V takes place at The Chattanooga Riverfront this fall, with the exact date to be announced here soon.

To read the full article about Shoudt, the Nathan’s qualifier and his statement about the Krystal Square Off, click here.

We’ve already proclaimed our unabated love for Chef Gordon Ramsey. Remember when we challenged the fast food lovin’ chef to a Krystal burger eating competition against Joey Chestnut? Still no word from Chef Ramsay on that, but it seems as though he’s taken his love for fast food to the next level with a book titled Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food.

Apparently the meals only take 30 minutes or so to prepare from start to finish, but we don’t think Chef Ramsay’s book includes any recipes for burgers, the quintessential fast food. Instead, Chef uses ingredients such as warm blood sausage, fresh gooseberries and lamb rumps.

So we’d like to offer an open invitation to Chef Ramsay - come to Krystal’s Test Kitchen in Chattanooga where we can show you how real fast food is made.

Thanks to our good friend and Krystal Square Off competitive eater Hall “Hoover” Hunt for the May edition of the Eater’s Poll. As we mentioned in a previous post, the Eater’s Poll rankings are determined by a group of competitive eaters and media that cover the sport. They basically vote to determine who they think make up the Top 25 in Major League Eating.

There aren’t really any surprises with the rankings as you can see from the top five, which we’ve listed below. It’s always good however, to see our Krystal competitive eaters remain on the top.

For the complete poll rankings, visit Hunt’s blog.

1. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut

2. Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti

3. Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi

4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt

5. Tim “Eater-X” Janus

Below is a video of Chestnut breaking the record for the most Krystal burgers eaten in two minutes. Just in case you needed a reminder as to why he’s ranked number one.

Mike Golic of ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning battled “Pretty Boy” Pete Davekos, Tim “Eater X” Janus and Crazy Legs Conti in a buffalo wing eating competition this morning live on-air. As we reported earlier, Golic had to compete against the eating pros after losing the 2008 NCAA bracket wager against co-host Mike Greenberg.

This morning’s three-minute competition was called “The Feast on the First”, and even though Golic held his own, he came in last with 15 wings. The rest of the results are below along with two videos. The first video is of the actual competition while the second is of the trophy presentation.

Much love to “Eater X” for rocking the Krystal beanie. We had no idea he’d be sporting his Krystal Square Off gear. Perhaps it’s his good luck hat? If so, it sure worked this morning.

MIKE AND MIKE IN THE MORNING’S “FEAST ON THE FIRST” RESULTS:

4th place - Mike Golic with 15 wings
3rd place - “Pretty Boy” Pete Davekos with 22 wings
2nd place - Crazy Legs Conti with 23 wings
1st place - Tim “Eater X” Janus with 31 wings