''Bubba' hopes to eat his way to N.Y.''

B00 check for ty Megan Almon

The Times-Herald

Today could be the day.

For Newnan's Loren "Bubba" Yarbrough, a win today will clinch a spot at the Super Bowl -- the Super Bowl of competitive eating, that is.

Yarbrough competes at Lenox Square Mall at 1 p.m. in the Georgia Hot Dog-Eating Championship, a preliminary to Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, N.Y. Joining him at the table will be fellow Newnan resident and competitive eater Larry "Legend" McNeil.

"It's the Super Bowl of eating, as big as it gets," Yarbrough said of the well-known Nathan's contest. The annual competition is aired on ESPN, down to the coveted "Yellow Mustard Belt" and the $20,000 check given to each year's winner.

Eating giant Takeru Kobayashi of Japan -- who, at a mere 160 pounds, looks nothing like the chow-champion that he is -- was denied his seventh straight Nathan's victory last year by American eater Joey Chestnut. Chestnut downed 66 Nathan's Famous dogs -- buns and all -- in the designated 12 minutes to bring the Yellow Mustard Belt back stateside.

The 12-minute time limit has been cut down to 10 minutes this year.

The change gives Yarbrough some strategic advantage. He may not be able to eat as many as some other competitors in the extended time limit, but he has speed on his side.

Eating a Nathan's Famous Hot Dog is no easy feat. For those familiar with the dogs -- their origin traceable to a nickel hot dog stand at Coney Island in 1916 -- Nathan's hot dogs are not your average wieners.

"There's an audible snap when you bite into one," Yarbrough said.

The thick sausage and spiced meat is wrapped in a thick casing.

"After about 10, the spices and the thickness get to you," he added.

Yarbrough's personal record is set at 20. If he can outdo that, a victory today may be within reach.

According to Yarbrough, the trick is to "build a rhythm."

He prefers Kobayashi's style, which involves snatching a dog from the bun; "Solomon-ing" it -- think of the Bible's King Solomon advising that the squabbling mothers divide the infant in half -- shoving both dog halves in his mouth with a quick-biting, typewriter-like efficiency while simultaneously "dunking" the bun; shoving the doused bun in behind the dogs; and once they're down the hatch, all of it goes in one big swallow.

His training regimen for such an event isn't as gruesome as some may picture. Like other competitive eaters, Yarbrough builds up his stomach's stretch-ability as a competition approaches. He opts for low-calorie solutions. Every day this week, he's eaten his lunch, set the timer on his watch, and done his best to guzzle a gallon of water in less than a minute.

He and McNeil also train with filling -- high-water foods like watermelon. Occasional trips to local buffets are on the agenda as well, just to keep them conditioned.

Contrary to popular belief, most competitive eaters do not immediately relieve their achingly-full bellies by regurgitating their food following a competition.

"I try not to," Yarbrough said. "The goal is to hold it down as long as possible."

Throwing up afterwards develops a habit that can recur any time the stomach feels engorged, and if a competitor throws up during a match, he or she is "DQ-ed," or disqualified.

The pals, both Atlanta city employees, entered the competitive eating scene in 2005. Members of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, McNeil and Yarbrough enjoy the extra money that comes with wins.

"We like it," Yarbrough said. "It's something fun to do."

The two have competitively eaten pizza, Krystal burgers, pulled pork, ribs, meatballs, key lime pie, chili-cheese fries and bratwurst, to name a few.

In the past couple of years, Yarbrough has slowed down a bit, entering only four to five competitions each year rather than 15 to 20. The cutback hasn't slowed him down. In February, Yarbrough shattered a Guinness Book record by downing 20, 3-inch jalapenos -- an inch and a quarter at their thickest part -- in less than 30 seconds. The minute-long contest was cut off at 27 seconds, the previous record having been 16 eaten in the full allotted time.

.

posted by Don "Moses" Lerman  # 2:49 AM