WOF 2010- Defcon Deathmatch Pre & Post Interviews
I decided to see what it takes to step up to the plate for one of the scariest chicken wing contests known to man. I talked to a few of the contestants before and after the infamous Defcon Deathmatch held at the 2010 Weekend of Fire at Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield, Ohio. You get to hear their strategy and confidence before, and hear their excuses afterwards. I also wrap up with the 2009 champion, David Huddleston and the new champion and record holder, Steve Smallwood.
You can check out the Deathmatch videos from 2 different angles that was posted a few days ago. CLICK HERE
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That guy is a robot.
I watched the video a few more times, and it’s clear that the 58 second record seems a little dubious. Now, I’m not trying to steal any thunder or credit from Steve – he certainly deserved to win. But he was still chewing on meat at least 30 seconds after he lifted up his hands. I had moved the camera away from him looking for the 2nd place finisher, so I don’t know exactly when Steve finally swallowed.
I had also watched Hudd’s victory from last year, and Hudd had finished his 10 wings in about 1:48. Add 30 or 40 seconds of chewing to Steve, and it approaches Hudd’s time. So what seemed superhuman is suddenly more believable.
Again, Steve did a phenomenal job, and he was the clear cut champ. But it brings up the question: what constitutes winning – cleaning your wings first or swallowing the meat first and opening up your mouth? Every other wing contest I’ve witnessed or heard about says the later.
It was far too hectic for me to personally check out the contents of each persons mouth. Had Steve attempted to spit the meat under the table, I dare say another one of the contestants would have spoken up. When the person raises their hand, I check the bones, if they are clean, they are recorded. Steve was a machine cleaning off the bones. If Steve had yacked up the meat before the end of the hands down period, he would’ve been disqualified as well.
There really is no absolutely perfect way to do this.
It was clear that I did not win.
I made the same observation on the other thread. Hudd even says he stopped eating when the hand went up, or else it may have been real close for when the wings were actually *eaten*. But I wasnt even there, so i’ll stop now 🙂
I know the brownie contest on Sunday was, have the whole brownie in your mouth within the time limit. when it was swallowed and you showed your empty mouth that was the winner. Second place guy actually had the brownie in his mouth before I did but I swallowed and showed my empty mouth first.
Maybe not, but it would be nice to see it done the same way every time. The sauce gets hotter and the rules change. I can honestly say for those reasons I would never enter a deathmatch.
Parker, please explain how the rules “change”. Christ, we haven’t “changed” the rules. Let’s see, you throw clean bones into the bowl, and they are counted. You raise your hand when you have cleaned the bones. What has “changed”?
Most of the people were still chewing when they raised their hands. You guys crack me up.
John, I was referring to DKs comment on the hotzone;
(WTF? The guy was still chewing at the 2 minute mark. When I did it, I had to raise my hands, open my mouth and stick out my tongue when I was done. I thought it was a wing eating contest, not a “see who can stuff the most meat in their mouth at one time” contest. What a joke.)
And the sauce gets hotter with each deathmatch it seems.
Either way, the guy won, and it was impressive. Great job Creator…the heck with the Monday morning armchair judges!
A lot of the time the bigger game is how can I beat the rules and win, not just win the game. It happens in all competitions. You can only set it up for the way it should be, and trust that all competitors will play by the rules.
All I can say is it definitely was not a personal attack from me against John Dilley. I just wanted a clarification of the rules. Just my personal opinion here… I think in future Deathmatches a closer eye should be kept on things. If need be, I’m sure there would be a couple of us chileheads who would be more than happy to stand on either side of the Table of Virtue to help judge whether or not contestants are “chipmunking”.
I think that’s how Buddah won the Reviewer’s Cup…LOL:)~
I don’t think anybody took it that way Scott.
Good idea regarding the extra judges…keeps everyone involved.
Wise words from a wise man. Thanks, Cajohn.
When you achieve that advanced age that wisdom peaks at, then maybe you will truly understand the sage advice from the master himself.
My two cents is that unless you do your own challenge/event/contest, it is easy to say what went wrong after the fact. The Deathmatch is truly chilehead entertainment for the masses, and the Creator can do it anyway he wants to. Change or no change, I can never get enough of the nose drippings, the seizure-like shaking and the grimaces of pain. :_thumbsup:
Funny thing is, those are the 3 things he likes most about sex too.
lmfao…….. I pictured him exhibiting those traits on the shitter.
lmfao…….. I pictured him exhibiting those traits on the shitter.
To some of the people hammering me about chipmunking.I was chewing some wing when I raised my hands as everyone did.I wasn’t chewing big mouthful of wings at 2 mins I promise that.I was chewing throughout the wait time and after burn just picking pieces from my teeth.Most people saw this challenge as pain but as for me it was enjoyment.This was also the first contest I’ve ever been in.I am a very honest person and would not try and bend any rules to make an unfair advantage over anyone.I’ll be back next year to compete and hopefully be able to win.the rules were anounced bones to be cleaned are counted and trust me mine were cleaned.I love that sauce. So cut a guy some slack.I was competing not trying to cheat in anyway.With all that lol I’m looking forward to doing reviews and meeting some chiliheads and make some new friends.I’m an easy going likeable guy.
Also I have a nice stock of chili seeds for anyone that wants to trade some.I have Bhut Jolokia,Giant Bhut Jolokia,Naga Morich,Red Savinas,Mustard Habanero,Flourescent Purples,Peter Pepper,Anaheims,Long Cayenne,and also should have some 7Pot 7Pod seeds as well.My plant is healthy and doing well.I would to have some Trinidad Scorpions and Thai Pepper “Prik Ne Suan” or Mouse Sh*T as it’s known in Thailand.They are smallest and hottest thais.They are no bigger than a tic-tac.I would like some rare ultra hot peppers.Anyone interested send me a message at
sa****@ho*****.com
. Fellow chileheads have a good day and Thamks again Buddha for letting me try the Scorpion at WOF that maybe my new fav pepper/ 🙂 🙂
That response took a while….did you finally finish chewing?
:winner:
Steve,
Just for the record, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. I was talking in generalities about contests. Even in the competitions we have in our industry there are people who try to beat the rules to win an event. Peoples choice is the worst in most manufacturer’s minds. Ballot box stuffing, local favorites, even who has the most friends present determine the winner most of the time. It is impossible to cover all of the bases. You can only set the rules and hope everyone complies. You won, and those that didn’t often taste sour grapes. Good luck in the future and good job on blowing away the record!
Mr. Cajohn I fully can understand that.I didn’t think you were though.By the way I love your products man.I have quite a few at home and a stash at work also. 🙂 I’ve went through about 8 or so bottles of your crushed and powdered Jolokias.I also have a few sauces I really like Z nothing beyond on grilled tilapia MMM.Have a good day and I hope to get to Columbus and check out your facility.I saw it on Tv and it looks really cool.My kind of place.Keep up the good job Sir. :_thumbsup: :_thumbsup:
😉 You know it Parker 😆 😆 But I didn’t just finish chewing I have carpal tunnel and takes me awhile to type.I can’t hardly play guitar much anymore which really sucks bad.Parker man u have good day buddy.
Steve, I don’t think anyone (at least here on this website) was hammering you or implying that you cheated. I made it very clear in my first comment above that you did a great job and deserved to win. The only issue I had was that every other eating contest I’ve heard of required the swallowing of food. If the Creator’s only requirements for winning are that the bones are cleaned and that no one upchucks during the time allotted, then so be it – that’s the rules and precedents that we’ll go by from now on. I’ll have no beef with John Dilley about this and continue to buy & support his products.
Hi Steve, welcome to the chaos. You are correct, the rules state clean bones, that’s primarily what I’m looking for. We’ve had many people in the past do the ‘one bite’ thing and throw them in the bowl, that’s unnacceptable. WQe’ve even had a few try to hide full wings under the eaten ones, they were dismissed from the table. Perhaps I may put a small amendment in for next year, but probably not. This contest is for the competitors as much as it is for the audience, it’s all about the fun. I didn’t see ANYONE having a bad time during the contest (except maybe a few in self-induced, excruciating painful bliss, but so be it), on the contrary, the crowd was going nuts, and the competitors were all in deep concentration during the 5-minute palms down part. I’ve actually never seen that much concentration amongst competitors, perhaps I’ll have a couple of ‘instigators’ on hand next year to liven things up during the 5-minute period, like we’ve experimented with in a couple of regional matches.
Congrats again, my friend, see you next year!
No problem buddy I’ve just seen several comments on various blogs and it’s mainly people that wasn’t there doing it.It’s not a big ordeal.I just thought I’d throw out a comment or two.I think everyone I met at WOF all seem like nice and cool people.Especially Hudd he’s a great guy.I really enjoyed chatting with him afterwards and the next day after he won the brownie contest.Good job Hudd you rocked that one out.Everybody take care I’m off to sleep.I have to work again tonight. Cya
For Sure I’ll be there I had a blast that weekend .Keep up the good work if u need a good ginea pig to try some I’m your man :_thumbsup: :_thumbsup: thanks again and you by far had the coolest booth!!!
So nice, he said it twice…
No doubt the Defcon Deathmatch will always fun to watch. John’s contest, Johns rules! U still the man Steve!
:_dancingdevil:
Thanks Scott.
Steve, you are a machine. To actually enjoy the Deathmatch sauce and say “I love this sauce” is abnormal. You seem to be immune to capsaicin. And to eat “Z….Nothing Beyond” straight up, on your food….intense. You are to be respected in our little community, welcome.
Yeah, what he said!
Steve, you are a welcome addiction to our chilehead group, and would love to see you at future gatherings. Your chicken eating was a force to be reckoned with whether you chipmunked or not. You did it within the rules and no one can take away your fine effort because in the history of the Defcon Deathmatch, no one has ever done it. I top my hat to you. Yet, I think there might be something very wrong with you if you like Z…Nothing Beyond. That stuff takes eyebrows off peoples heads. :stretcher:
I also look forward to your review stylings in the near future.
We really need to challenge Mr. Smallwood…his taste buds are made of uranium.