Have You Ever Considered Entering a BBQ Brethren Throwdown? Here's an EXCELLENT Chance!

It was brought to our attention some time ago that some people had either never heard of the BBQ Brethren Throwdown contests, or simply felt a little intimidated for whatever reason.

Our solution to that was to do a "Virgin, Rookie, Amateur, FNG" Throwdown where anyone who had only participated in 3 Throwdowns or less could enter. This eliminated any fears brought on about stiff competition from veterans because they could not participate.

What people found who entered that Throwdown was that these veterans were actually very nice and helpful, and provided many tips and answered lots of questions to help people make the best entries they could. A number of those who first entered at that Throwdown are now regulars in the Throwdowns themselves and can speak first hand about both sides of the equation.

I am happy to announce that beginning this Friday 8/5 and running through Sunday 8/14 we are having another "Virgin, Rookie, Amateur, FNG" Throwdown to try and attract newcomers.

If you have never entered a Throwdown before, or have only entered 3 or fewer in the past (just ask and I will let you know), then PLEASE feel free to enter.

These contests are more about fun and sharing food than it is about competition, and taking that first leap of faith is what it takes usually to get people hooked.

The BBQ Brethren Throwdowns have their own subforum under Q-Talk at the following link:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=86

The "Virgin, Rookie, Amateur, FNG" Throwdown can be found at this link:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112600

Again, please participate if you have not done so before. You could very well find yourself having fun and entering on a regular basis!:thumb:

Any questions, please feel free to ask here, or over at the Throwdown forum/threads. I hope to see you there!

For your reference, here is the link to our first ever "Rookie, Virgin, Amateur, FNG" Throwdown.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95886

This was the vote thread which shows the entries and how they stacked up.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98180

The winner was R2Egg2Q, who is one of our regulars now. Several other names that entered in that Throwdown are also names you see in many Throwdowns nowadays.

It's true!:becky: I've never won. But I love the Throwdowns so much, and have so much fun that I not only still participate, but I took over the moderation of the Throwdowns from their original creator JD Mcgee!:thumb:

When he stepped down, I couldn't bear the thought of such a fun thing going away because I felt that not only had my cooking presentation improved, but my photography skills improved too. My early photos were much worse than the photos I take now (as hard as that is to believe):laugh:

You too will find some benefit from it, I'm sure.:thumb:

Like NorthwestBBQ alluded to, you can never be sure if you will win or not. You may think you made the best entry and lose, or you may think your entry was not very special but the voters disagreed. We can be both our own harshest critics, and can also sometimes think too highly of ourselves just the same. In the end it's the voters that decide, and the votes are public so as to avoid any popularity contests.

No matter what happens though, you will have made a dish you had fun creating, and most likely really enjoyed eating. You may have stepped a bit out of your comfort zone and unwittingly made yourself a better cook than you were before. In my mind, the best thing of all are the friends you make there. In my opinion, the chance of winning is just gravy really.

As for any rumors of a bias towards the Pacific Northwest (there isn't...at least yet:becky, let's not forget that these contests were created by someone in the Pacific Northwest, and he is also among the winners in the "Hall of Flame".:thumb:

NorthwestBBQ said:

Very true, I posted this:

and got beat by this:

Click to expand...

I'm rolling on the floor I'm laughing so hard!:rofl:

If only!:becky:

Seriously though, for anyone new to the Throwdowns, that marshmallow is not a winning entry!:loco:

But many who participate tend to have a warped sense of humor and love to lovingly rib each other a bit. So I'm sure NorthwestBBQ really does feel like he lost by that margin and is just now finally speaking out about this injustice!:becky:

Heck, it may have received more votes than the sum of all of my votes from all of my entries!:shock: And I'm not even from the Pacific Northwest!

It's gotta be a conspiracy!