Krystal Square Off IV

NEW PICTURES!!!

(Hoover and Lindsay(my Krystal Bunnette AKA Krystal counter))(Thanks Lindsay for the picture)

(Hoover signing autographs before the contest)(Thanks Lindsay for the picture)

(Hoover's big introduction!)(Thanks Krystal (ie Brad, Kenny, whoever else I have forgotten) for setting up an awesome stage and production))(Thanks Kenny for passing on the picture)

(Me chowing down on some Krystal burgers.)

(Thanks Ryan for the pictures.)

(Here are some big time Krystal Square Off fans that Bob and I ran into in the hotel. They wanted to go to the contest, but were busy Sunday and could not go. So luckily one of their moms was nice enough to drive all of them a few hours from Nashville (I believe) to Chatty the day before the contest just to come to the hotel to get some of the MLE eater's autographs. I am glad they were at least able to do that and get some cool shirts too! That's why I go to contests in the first place. ;o)Just for the cool shirts. )

(Erik the Red standing next to the qualifying poster at Krystals in Chattanooga the night before the contest. All the cool people were there! (j/k, I like to kid. I don't even know what cool is. Plus Lerman was not there. He is cool. He was my inspiration.))

(What is Bob doing? He is a silly man. I hate Bob and his Humbleness. j/k again. My humor is sarcastic and mean. Whatever he was doing I should have been doing. Obviously. He did eat 95 Krystals the next day.)

(Bob giving you the finger. Pointing where he ate a measly 69 Krystals in 8 minutes. His goal was to match Kobayashi's original world record(69) in his qualifier and then match his 2nd world record (97) in the finals. Two away. Too bad. Good try though!)

(Joey. Predicting he will fill that spot on the poster as the CHAMPION. Nice call Joey. And nice shirt. He does like his Krystals like his women. By the dozen. (That's not me saying that. It is his shirt.))

(Yeah! The second person to qualify! I was very excited to be able to qualify so early and to be able to do it in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL was even more exciting. Thanks again to all my friends, family, and fans that showed up in Jacksonville to cheer me on. Also thanks to the Krystal staff at the St. John's Bluff location for cooking up all my burgers and having them ready for me right after work. You guys rock! Please don't call me Steamer Man anymore though. My name is Hoover. j/k, call me whatever you want. Just don't call me jerk.)

(that Patrick he's so hot right now. I think he is signaling Krystals will bring world peace and end world hunger. What a nice guy.)

(Joey is looking at his pie wonering how a normal human could eat so slowly. He thinks to himself..."a normal human would take 5 or 6 minutes to eat this at a minimum. Let me try. Oops, I ate it in one bite. Crap! I hate it when I do that.)

(Liz and the Lee's hanging out at Krystals too. I am glad they came even though Mr. Lee kept trying to pressure me into eating more food (the night before the contest). As Frank from "Old School" says right after getting shot with a dart in the neck, "Y-You're crazy, man. You're crazy. I like you, but you're crazy.")

(Good food, good friends, good times. Good gosh, that sounds cheesy. It's true though.)

(Thank you Kenny and Krystals for the food!)

(You see that Steakbellie!)

(Top 3 being announced live on ESPN.)(left to right: George Shea, Patrick Bertoletti ate 94 for 3rd place, Joey Chestnut ate 103 for 1st place, Krystal Kitty, Bob Shoudt ate 95 for 2nd place)

(left to right: Holly Rowe and Hall Hunt)

(Tim Brown wearing the full Hannibal Lector outfit.)(left to right: Tim Brown and Hall Hunt)

(Rich LeFevre seems to be counting the amount of people he needs to give autographs to. I think he was calculating how many seconds he had to allot to each person so he could get everyone done before the contest started. Unfortunately we did not get to everyone. I think Rich was also daydreaming about the twinkies and cookies in the backstage tent and figuring how many he could fit in his pockets. I have to admit I was thinking about that too. I was wearing cargo pants for a reason afterall.)

(In the background is the line of people waiting for autographs. The people in the foreground are waiting for my autograph. I suppose I was holding up the line and being a little rude while snapping this photo.)

(Super Paul Barlow showed up to cheer us on and to partake in the Krystal celebration.)

(Bertoletti in his new Corvette. What is he doing with his hands?)

(Patrick Bertoletti:Thumbs up!)

(Best buds, but enemies at the table Patrick and Joey pose for a picture at the hotel before heading to the Krystal Championship. (left to right: Patrick Bertoletti and Joey Chestnut)

(Yes Crazy Legs. Those are short shorts.)

(left to right: Hall Hunt and Crazy Legs Conti)