Random Acts of Sport: Eating Contests

Office birthday parties are probably the last places I'd expect a Random Act of Sport to occur. A bunch of people standing around awkwardly looking either for something to say or for an opportunity to run away is not usually conducive to the creation of sporting heroes, but sometimes the unexpected and wonderful happens. Last week, while celebrating a coworker's birthday, we had one last—and generously portioned—slice of ice cream cake melting quickly. Someone whipped out a $5 bill, slapped it on the table, and declared, "This if for anyone who will eat this cake with no hands or utensils."

That's when our hero stepped up to the challenge. He approached the table, put his hands behind his back, and buried his face in ice cream. He fought off the brain freeze, yelling, "Ohmygod my head is SO COLD!" When he cleaned off the plate, he pocketed his new five dollar bill.

During postgame interviews, he said he had recently seen an eating contest and wondered what that experience was like. Now, I vehemently declare eating contests NOT SPORT. There is nothing athletic or sporty about eating, say, 60+ hot dogs in a minute. In fact, it's absolutely disgusting (Kobayashi's stomach in the above picture agrees). However, rising to someone's challenge in order to break the monotony that is an office party, while enjoying yourself some delicious cake and pocketing five bucks: that's SPORT.

*photo courtesy of dietrich via Creative Commons License