Roll Call. Inside 30 days. Sam's Club Nationals

Congrats to Big Ron's sponsored team Lucky's Q!

Big Ron said:

Congrats to Big Ron's sponsored team Lucky's Q!

Click to expand...

-- insert shameless self plug here----

Well...it is done....crying and all. Let' see how the actual finish compared to the rankings of Nat. BBQ rankings: I'll do BBQRace.com next.


Nat. BBQ Rank / Team Name / Actual finish


52 Lucky's Q 1
53 Grills Gone Wild 2
1 Quau 3
42 Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ 4
16 Big T'z Q Cru 5
570 Trailhound Smokers BBQ 6
29 Pig Skin BBQ 7
7 TRUEBUD BBQ 8
307 Boondoggle BBQ 9
226 The Smoke Hunters 10
266 There's No Place Like Smoke 11
22 The Smoking Hills 12
22 two old men and a grill 13
2 Bub-Ba-Q 14
36 Que'n, Stew'n & Brew'n 15
155 Meat@Slim's 16
69 Fire Dancer BBQ 17
21 Swiggin' Pig 18
89 Wooley Bully "BBQ Mafia" 19
19 Buffalo's BBQ 20
180 BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE 21
236 Spruce Ridge Smokers 22
75 Pork Barrel BBQ 23
498 Finn's Finest BBQ 24
109 Stubborn Bull BBQ 25
58 Who's Smokin' Now 26
237 R&R bbq 27
212 BREW-B-Q 28
187 sizzlin bones bbq 29
150 ZBQ 30
15 Swamp Boys 31
203 County Line Smokers 32
296 Smitty's Real Pit BBQ 33
572 ljsmokin' 34
62 Smokin' Triggers 35
26 CAVEMANCUISINE 36
258 Smokin' Butt Crew 37
25 warren co pork choppers 38
105 Pickin' Porkers 39
225 SIN CITY SMOKERS 40
360 2 Lil' Macs BBQ 41
98 Piggy D's BBQ 42
44 Lo -N-Slo' BBQ 43
325 Wilbur's Revenge 44
151 ITS 5 O'CLOCK SOMEWHERE 45
210 Route 66 Catering Crew 46
245 Good Buddies BBQ 47
701 Triple A Cookers 48
108 Everglades Seasoning BBQ Team 49
71 BBQ Guru 50

See any regional consistency of the top 10????

BBQRACE
RANKINGS/ Regional finish/ regional score/ Sam's finals finish/ Home State


36 1. Lucky's Q - 686.8574 1 AZ
49 2. Grills Gone Wild Iowa - 664.5710 2 IA
7 8. QUAU - 670.2858 3 IL
23 1. Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ - 685.1428 4 IA
3 4. Big T's Q Cru - 675.9998 5 IA
350 7. Trailhound Smokers BBQ - 649.7142 6 NV
2 6. Pig Skin BBQ - 674.2854 7 IA
8 2. Truebud BBQ - 685.7140 8 KS
202 4. Boondoggle BBQ - 679.9998 9 IA
297 9. The Smoke Hunters - 669.7138 10 IL
156 5. There's No Place Like Sm - 679.4288 11 MO
18 3. The Smoking Hills - 655.4286 12 KS
26 8. Two Old Men & a Grill - 651.9996 13 NC
12 1. Bub-Ba-Q - 697.1426 14 GA
31 6. Que'n, Stew'n, & Brew'n - 691.9998 15 GA
113 10. Meat @ Slim's - 649.1430 16 NY
34 7. Fire Dancer BBQ - 678.8572 17 AR
10 4. Swiggin' Pig - 695.4284 18 TN
458 7. Wooley Bully BBQ Maffia - 691.4284 19 FL
21 3. Buffalo's BBQ - 684.0002 20 OK
102 9. Brew 'N' Bar-B-Que - 674.8568 21 KS
476 10. Spruce Ridge Smokers - 665.7140 22 MI
60 6. Pork Barrel BBQ - 656.0000 23 DC
395 5. Finn's Finest BBQ - 656.5714 24 MD
80 3. Stubborn Bull BBQ - 664.5714 25 NY
56 1. Who's Smokin' Now - 666.2856 26 CA
389 6. R & R BBQ - 651.4284 27 UT
458 7. Brew-B-Q - 672.5712 28 TX
154 8. Sizzlin Bones BBQ - 675.9996 29 OK
136 1. ZBQ - 670.8572 30 RI
264 8. Swamp Boys - 691.4282 31 FL
93 10. County Line Smokers - 672.0002 32 MO
601 3. Smitty's Real Pit BBQ - 678.8570 33 OH
1259 10. L J Smokin' - 690.2852 34 FL
48 8. Smokin' Triggers - 648.5716 35 TX
27 6. Cavemancuisine - 679.4284 36 MO
369 9. Smokin' Butt Crew - 690.8568 37 AL
17 2. Warren Co. Pork Choppers - 697.1424 38 GA
89 9. Pickin' Porkers - 650.2854 39 NC
251 5. Sin City Smokers - 651.9998 40 NV
268 9. 2 Lil' Macs BBQ - 645.7140 41 CO
57 10. Piggy D's BBQ - 645.7140 42 WA
104 4. Lo'-N-Slo' BBQ - 661.7140 43 PA
394 7. Wilbur's Revenge - 652.0006 44 PA
134 5. It's 5 O'clock Somewhere - 674.8572 45 AR
174 4. Route 66 Catering Crew - 652.5712 46 AZ
460 5. Good Buddies BBQ - 693.1424 47 FL
538 2. Triple A Cookers - 685.1428 48 TX
715 3. Everglades Seasoning BBQ - 696.5710 49 FL
181 2. BBQ Guru - 666.2854 50 PA

Six Iowa teams and we brought up the rear - in 9th. :wink:

KC_Bobby said:

Six Iowa teams and we brought up the rear - in 9th. :wink:

Click to expand...

Nothin wrong with being in the rear of a good thang!!
Ed

ModelMaker said:

Nothin wrong with being in the rear of a good thang!!
Ed

Click to expand...

:shock::tape:

I see some consistency as well.... Just saying...

Put the Royal Invitational + Open together with Sam's and the consistency of the upper midwest in general and Iowa in particular is apparent.

Add in team of the year standings and the conclusion is clear. Right now the center

of the BBQ universe is right here in the upper midwest.

Those of us who organize contests up here are very lucky ( as in Lucky's Q) to play host to these great teams.

And those of us who judge in the upper Midwest really get to sample the best of the best :-D. That's one reason that there are so many "BBQ Medium" judges here (3XL for me).

Rookie'48 said:

And those of us who judge in the upper Midwest really get to sample the best of the best :-D. That's one reason that there are so many "BBQ Medium" judges here (3XL for me).

Click to expand...

So with me wearing a XL does that make me BBQ pettite?
Ed

Being from the center of the bbq universe, I get the joy of getting my a** kicked by the best of the best every week :drama: Congrats again to all!

Dont come to Illinois then. Just the same...

Of course not...that's where you reside :doh::icon_shy

carlyle said:

Put the Royal Invitational + Open together with Sam's and the consistency of the upper midwest in general and Iowa in particular is apparent.

Add in team of the year standings and the conclusion is clear. Right now the center

of the BBQ universe is right here in the upper midwest.

Those of us who organize contests up here are very lucky ( as in Lucky's Q) to play host to these great teams.

Click to expand...

ONLY because the majority of the judges come from that region for each of the contests you listed.

Pickin' Porkers said:

ONLY because the majority of the judges come from that region for each of the contests you listed.

Click to expand...

interesting slant.

so you're suggesting more judges travel from the upper midwest than the south east and west, AND that their numbers are so great as to influence national championships via predisposition of great BBQ over 100's of teams from mulitple regions?

Care to explain how Iowa teams came out of multiple regions to make it to the finals or how they do really well when they compete in other regions? Maybe they bring the judges with them?

boogiesnap said:

interesting slant.

so you're suggesting more judges travel from the upper midwest than the south east and west, AND that their numbers are so great as to influence national championships via predisposition of great BBQ over 100's of teams from mulitple regions?

Click to expand...

I ABSOLUTELY believe that the large majority of the teams in the top 10 compete regularly in that area...and.."that area" is defined as the midwest whether it be the 'northern midwest or what have you'... had a distinct advantage. Obviously none of us know where the 50 judges came from but being the gambling person I am, I would bet good money very few came from the new england area, the southeast or southwest.....OR northeast. Note I am NOT saying NONE came from those regions, but I am confident the majority came from a 200 mile radius of Bentonville....hence the advantage to midwest teams.

As for our poor showing....we deserved the 39th place we got so... "the kid" here is not belly aching or calling it lousy judging. I am sure the judges did the best they could but they do have regional preferences. That is why our "sport" is damn near gambling....because we cannot control what judges like....there is nothing quantitative and there is little we can do but cook our best and hope for the right tables. We did not cook our best.

Anyone that would argue that the outcome of this contest would have been the same if the contest were held in Rhode Island, or South Carolina or Arizona or Washington State would have to be totally eaten up with ignorance. Judges are heavily influenced by their preference in flavor profiles and regional differences definitely come into play. If you don't believe me...take any team you wish and let them compete for two years in another region and see how they do compared to their home territory. Very, very, very few teams score well all over the country....in fact....I cannot think of one team i would put my money on if they competed nationwide regularly....and nationwide is not defined as IL, MO, IA, AR or OK. On the other hand, I am not trying to take away from the success of the teams this weekend..... but to believe that all teams had the same level playing field in terms of judging preference is again...well...like a Carolina Panthers...they will be hyped up about "THEIR" team than looking at stats.

They were searching for judges.....and all Master judges were eligible for participating in this event. An extremely few will make the LONG ASS drive or pay airfare to go judge this cook-off and I do not blame them. SO, this event was loaded with judges from a close radius.

Twist this or turn it anyway you wish if for any reason other than being argumentative....again...bring that contest to another region of the country and let's see how the results differ. The same applies to the Royal and other "National Championships".

Pickin' Porkers said:

I ABSOLUTELY believe that the large majority of the teams in the top 10 compete regularly in that area...and.."that area" is defined as the midwest whether it be the 'northern midwest or what have you'... had a distinct advantage. Obviously none of us know where the 50 judges came from but being the gambling person I am, I would bet good money very few came from the new england area, the southeast or southwest.....OR northeast. Note I am NOT saying NONE came from those regions, but I am confident the majority came from a 200 mile radius of Bentonville....hence the advantage to midwest teams.

As for our poor showing....we deserved the 39th place we got so... "the kid" here is not belly aching or calling it lousy judging. I am sure the judges did the best they could but they do have regional preferences. That is why our "sport" is damn near gambling....because we cannot control what judges like....there is nothing quantitative and there is little we can do but cook our best and hope for the right tables. We did not cook our best.

Anyone that would argue that the outcome of this contest would have been the same if the contest were held in Rhode Island, or South Carolina or Arizona or Washington State would have to be totally eaten up with ignorance. Judges are heavily influenced by their preference in flavor profiles and regional differences definitely come into play. If you don't believe me...take any team you wish and let them compete for two years in another region and see how they do compared to their home territory. Very, very, very few teams score well all over the country....in fact....I cannot think of one team i would put my money on if they competed nationwide regularly....and nationwide is not defined as IL, MO, IA, AR or OK. On the other hand, I am not trying to take away from the success of the teams this weekend but to believe that all teams had the same level playing field in terms of judging preference is again...well...like a Carolina Panthers...they will be hyped up about "THEIR" team than looking at stats.

They were searching for judges.....and all Master judges were eligible for participating in this event. An extremely few will make the LONG ASS drive or pay airfare to go judge this cook-off and I do not blame them. SO, this event was loaded with judges from a close radius.

Twist this or turn it anyway you wish if for any reason other than being argumentative....again...bring that contest to another region of the country and let's see how the results differ. The same applies to the Royal and other "National Championships".

Click to expand...

oooh kay.

so alot of new england judges must travel to tennessee then...

i simply think there are some damn good cooks in iowa. not argumentative at all.