Is winning enough?

Plowboy

Plowboy

somebody shut me the fark up.
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Is being the Grand Champion of a competition enough or...

Does it have to be sanctioned?
Does it have to be a qualifier?
Does it have to have enough money?
Does it have to have electricity?
Does it have to have the right number of teams?
Does it have to have "Big Name Teams"?
Does it have enough potential TOY points?
Does it have to be a World Championship? (It is all marketing until you win one. - Myron Mixon)

My first two grand championships were small non-sanctioned fair type contests. Was far, far from being the Jack, the Royal, or MIM. As GC, I won my entry fee back. And we liked it!!!

Is winning enough for you?
 
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Somedays its not even bought winning as it is about being away from work ,home shop etc. Winning is great and being able to pay a few bilss is nice sometimes also. We compete in a couple contests where you wont win enuff back to pay the entry but they are usually some of the better events we go to. Kinda swore off non sanctioned deals after not getting scores at a couple and being told we were not welcome at another. Not to say there are not good ones out there .
 
Being new and not having won yet I can only guess but i think yes. Actually just doing well is pretty sweet. As for sanctioned or not I think a win is a win. I enjoy seein the " good teams" at a contest. To do well aginst the teams with a proven record is rewarding to me even if they beat me I find satisfaction in being able to run close. But, all that said just to get it all turned in is good also..keith
 
A win anywhere is a win. But there are different wins, the bigger the contest the more weight the win carries. Kind of like winning Daytona or the Indy 500 carries more prestige than other races.
 
Never won a GC, only competed once so far. With your help I got a call in Pork.
Get to do my next contest this week and cant wait. Swine Assassins are in the event and I would be tickled if I could beat them in even 1 category. They seem to be hitting on all 8 right now. Thats the kinda thing that keeps me excited.
 
I think it all depends on your goals, and those can change over time. At the heart of it all you have to have fun and enjoy it, otherwise you would be better off staying home. But this is "competitive" for a reason. You should always be striving to do better than you did before.

Winning a GC in an amateur contest is a great way to start, but it will likely drive you to try your hand at going "pro". To start you will want to just get all your entries in on time an not be DAL. From there you will want to end up middle of the pack...then top half...then top 10...then an RGC...then your GC.

You will want to improve your ranking and start to see how you do against the "good" teams, and try and start beating them too. You will want to be seen as a team to beat by other teams.

Then you will want to get out to the big contests. Along the way you will want to earn enough money to make your hobby/obsession as affordable as possible so you can do it more and justify the expense.

After doing well at the big contests you will want to just go back to having fun and realize that that was what it was all about from the beginning.
 
OH NO!!!! Winning without having the fun of cue's your daddy conversations or sheep jokes from Blazing butts or a hug from Julie at Swamp pit or any of the hundred other things that occur personally at a comp is a hollow win. Fun to win, no doubt, more fun to be there and compete. Just my two cents....
 
I'm not completely positive I understand your question, Todd but I think with the cost involved in competing anymore, you have to at least hope for some good payouts. I can't cook without winning cash - which makes it pretty difficult to do! LOL! I prefer sanctioned events because you know exactly what to expect wherever you go. Qualifiers? Well, since one of my last goals in BBQ is to just make it to The Jack, I'd say yes, I'd want it to be a qualifier. We have MORE than accomplished what we only dreamed we could do in competition BBQ... except for cooking in Lynchburg! Last year, TOY points mattered to us. This year and the five years prior to last year, not at all.
 
I've won 2 reserves. One sanctioned, one non-sanctioned. Made the same amount of $$$ at both and loved every minute of each of them. I'll be honest, if I do get a GC I want it to be at a sanctioned contest, and I want it to be at a qualifier. In my mind the goal is an invite to the American Royal - and I want to earn the bragging rights that belong to recognized champions. And as a quailifier I would love to be part of the event that is the Jack draw. Those are my two comp dreams. Money never enters my mind - until I don't win any :)
 
We are a small time competition team. if we hear our team name called (other than when they hand out turn in boxes) we had a successful contest.

Last year at Princeton we got called in 3 meats. I walked around with a silly ass smile on my face for a week.

I might as well have been GC.
 
You who?

huminie said:
I think it all depends on your goals, and those can change over time. At the heart of it all you have to have fun and enjoy it, otherwise you would be better off staying home. But this is "competitive" for a reason. You should always be striving to do better than you did before.

Winning a GC in an amateur contest is a great way to start, but it will likely drive you to try your hand at going "pro". To start you will want to just get all your entries in on time an not be DAL. From there you will want to end up middle of the pack...then top half...then top 10...then an RGC...then your GC.

You will want to improve your ranking and start to see how you do against the "good" teams, and try and start beating them too. You will want to be seen as a team to beat by other teams.

Then you will want to get out to the big contests. Along the way you will want to earn enough money to make your hobby/obsession as affordable as possible so you can do it more and justify the expense.

After doing well at the big contests you will want to just go back to having fun and realize that that was what it was all about from the beginning.
Click to expand...

Dude, there are an awful lot of "you"s in that assessment. Which "you" are you refering to? Plowboy? Me? All of us? Or, maybe you are speaking for yourself, in which case, "I want" may be a little more accurate :wink:

Speaking for myself, I'm happiest when I've had fun, learned a little bit, and when the entire team is successful. For KCBS we split the 4 meats between two of us cooks - I won't be totally satisfied until we've all turned in something we're happy with and we've all had a good time...win or not.

We've never won a GC in a sanctioned contest...we plan to shut the competitive part of the operation down if and when we ever do.
 
Does it have to be sanctioned? Yes, for the most part
Does it have to be a qualifier? No
Does it have to have enough money? Makes it worthwhile...
Does it have to have electricity? No
Does it have to have the right number of teams? Yes
Does it have to have "Big Name Teams"? Yes
Does it have enough potential TOY points? No
Does it have to be a World Championship? (It is all marketing until you win one. - Myron Mixon) No

I've yet to GC, but RGC'd now 3 times (we only compete 3 comps per year). Like said earlier, more than anything else, it's the walk.
 
I couldn't win a GC if the comp was in my backyard, I was the only cook and my family were the judges. Farkin' judges. :grin:

In my mind ANY win is a good win. If I was only doing this for the wins I wouldn't be doing this.
 
I've got a couple GC's this year. I think the most satisfying thing is knowing that after all the time & work I've put into it I'm finally at a point that on given day's (not many) I can keep up with the big boys that I have and still look up to. (Yes Todd your one of them) But the fun and friends is still what brings me back week after week.

Now I got to get off the puter n start prepping chicken, sauces & rubs so I can try and beat that Plowboy guy in Indy this weekend!!:becky:
 
We go to be competitive. I love the thrill of the competition and since I can't play pro ball I sure can eat good BBQ. My goal every comp is to hear our name and hopefully pay for my gas. If we can get our whole comp + paid it makes the drive home that much sweeter.

Since we are fairly new to competing I hope that we get into comps with good organization. I have only been to one contest with poor organization and I will see most of you their in March :p

Electricity doesn't mean much to me. I love how organizers brag that the electric supply is to code. We don't want that they should say these are not GFI'D and you can run an electric tank without any problems.

We are in the Invitational to the Royal, and that is a dream. I would love to get into the Jack this year. Hell we may never win another contest so please pick us to go down to Lynchburg 2011.

I never thought we would try for TOY but maybe one of these years, hopefully sooner than later. To me that would be the Ultimate Win!!!
 
riblette said:
Dude, there are an awful lot of "you"s in that assessment. Which "you" are you refering to? Plowboy? Me? All of us? Or, maybe you are speaking for yourself, in which case, "I want" may be a little more accurate :wink:

Speaking for myself, I'm happiest when I've had fun, learned a little bit, and when the entire team is successful. For KCBS we split the 4 meats between two of us cooks - I won't be totally satisfied until we've all turned in something we're happy with and we've all had a good time...win or not.

We've never won a GC in a sanctioned contest...we plan to shut the competitive part of the operation down if and when we ever do.
Click to expand...

Not referring to anyone in particular, just competitive BBQers in general. It won't apply to everyone, but some will apply to most. It certainly doesn't all apply to any one person, myself included.
 
I just won my first GC and it was in a non-sanctioned event, but it did have the same four meats. I sure enjoyed it, but I have to be honest with myself and admit it wasn't the same feeling as I anticipate getting when I win one that gets me in the Jack draw, Royal invite, etc. I normally only do sanctioned contests, but thought the one I just competed in was a great time to get familiar with my new smoker. It was nice to win, nice to make some cash, and nice to hang out with some new friends in a less serious atmosphere.
 
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