Our ex-roommate, Chris, has told us about past holiday parties at his work in which the owner puts up $1,000 for the winner of a fried cheese ball eating contest. There are different rounds in which speed is usually a factor (three balls in under two minutes is the general rule). Each ball is a bit smaller than a tennis ball. Sometimes they'll have to eat jalapeno poppers or chug a full glass of Coke in 30 seconds.
I've begged Chris to get me into one of these, and he came through on Wednesday. His boss allowed Karen and I to attend (we were the only non-employees) under the condition that we not bring a camera. This only made it more intriguing.
We got there about an hour before the contest, but we were entertained by people riding the giant mechanical bull. The guy controlling the bull was beyond ennui...he seemed depressed. I ended up watching him more than the people riding the bull. Everyone would be freaking out and cheering, booing, whatever, and he'd be absolutely nonplussed.
When the cheese ball competition started, Karen and I squished into a spot right at the front of the long table. It was the perfect view of all involved. The referee stood above them yelling into his bullhorn, forcing them to wolf down the giant disgusting cheese balls (in fairness, Karen wanted one very badly, so I guess they're only disgusting to us vegans). The climax arrived when, as Chris had promised, a guy puked into his lap. Apparently, this year was much tamer than last with only one guy throwing up, but hey, I enjoyed it immensely.
We were in the perfect spot for wonderful photos, but as I mentioned, we weren't allowed to have cameras. Sorry!
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