The Buck or the "Buzz"

bobbyp

bobbyp

Found some matches.
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So what is it that makes you guys compete?

The chance of the big dollar prize funds?

Another shiny for your trophy room?

The massive buzz that makes your knees go week and your head spin as you hear your name called?

As the financial turmoil continues, everybody is startin to feel the pinch, with this comes the reality of less competions and maybe smaller prize funds.
People are already suggesting they wil be doing less comps, cutting down on travel etc, but, at the end of the day, what will keep you competin?
 
While all of those things are good, for us it is really the friend that we have made while competing and the opportunity to make new ones.

I won't lie, I like hearing our team called and getting a check (or cash) as much as the next guy or gal, but there are very few teams that make any money competing.
 
For me, it comes down to a few things. Getting away from the daily stress of work, hanging out with friends, and the thrill of getting calls. Money is nice, but if that was my goal I'm pretty sure that investing all of the money I have spent so far in a 1% savings account would make more sense.
 
Having a great time , meeting some the nicest people in the world. We absolutely love to have our name called though. It's not so much about the money its more like justification for all the hard work you put into getting your name called . If our name never gets called again we would still compete. Getting your name called might be the worst thing that can happen to you financially. If it happens you will know what Im talking about.
 
I love competition and have enjoyed meeting all the other cooks. The thrill of not knowing how you did until the call is great:)

Brew-B-Q, congrats on the win at Lambs Farms. That was our last comp of the year and we had a blast there.
 
I started competing because I'm hoping to get my name out there. I'm trying to earn myself some credibility so that one day I can open a successful BBQ restaurant or 2. I look at the money I'm spending as an investment in that venture.
 
I like to hear our name. When we don't get a call we're looking to just see that our scores are respectable and know we did something right. Also as a father of two with not many chances to hang out with the fellas this provides with that chance if only a few times a year.:p
 
Because chick's dig it.

And for ABC Sports: The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
 
For me it's meeting up with old friends & making new ones. It's the comeraderie of Friday evening and the thrill of seeing friends get "calls" on Saturday. It's tasting some of the very best food in the world and picking some cooks' brains on how I can make mine better. It's a mini-vacation away from the "real" world where I can totally relax & enjoy life.
Some folks just don't "get" what drives me to go to these things called comps - and I can't really explain it to them :rolleyes:.
 
I wouldn't say money is the deciding factor for us. It's more of a money to distance ratio. If the prize money is small and it's in our back yard it's no problem. If its small AND hundreds of miles away then we may pass.
 
All the reasons stated above but most of all its just plain FUN.
 
Bobby, I think that you'll find that while we all have a piece or two of it that we enjoy more than others, we all simply enjoy competing. That's at the heart of it. Some make enough so that the money covers their expenses plus a few extra dollars, others dont. Some do it to help advertise this or that. But, when you get down to basics, everyone wants to compete and hopefully they're better at barbecue than they are at, as Scottie said, knitting.

It's not the money, it's not the shiny trophies... Not even the name called. It's the simple enjoyment of competition itself. The rest are just the extra added glitz. Nice glitz mind you, but extras...

I know many excellent cooks who dont compete much if ever. When they do compete they tend to win or place very high. They just dont have that competition thing in them. Those that do compete have it in them. Those that compete frequently have it plus the money and the time to do so.
 
Lake Dogs said:
Because chick's dig it.
Click to expand...

BBQ and scars - that what we love... :-D

(sorry - couldn't resist)

For us, we love the thrill of hearing our name called...after that, it's nice to get a check. And for the local contests - we get to advertise our catering services.
 
bobbyp said:
So what is it that makes you guys compete?

The chance of the big dollar prize funds?

Another shiny for your trophy room?

The massive buzz that makes your knees go week and your head spin as you hear your name called?

...at the end of the day, what will keep you competin?
Click to expand...
I'm not going to lie, all of the above motivate me, plus the opportunity to compete, and the people and friendships.
But mostly the people and friendships. They will still be around when the trophies and $$ are gone. :thumb:
 
I love the friendly competition. The thrill of hearing your name called is a SUPER RUSH. Picking up a check is also a plus.
 
It's the camaraderie that has drawn me in. The way I see it, all of this bantering we do back and forth on the forums is just killing time until we can hang out together at a competition and/or a bash!
 
Friends, beer and b/s, make for the best BBQ comps.
For me the name call gives a fantastic buzz, but is countered by the very long (and very quiet) drive home, running the whole cook over and over through your head because you set yourself up for a call that never came.

We dont really have "local" comps here in Norfolk England, they are all a 500 to 800 mile round trip away, and with fuel now hitting $10-11 a Gallon it is getting real expensive.
Because I do catering and build pits for a living, I can lay off alot of those costs, but other competitors here are struggling to get their fees together.

Having said all of that, my biggest BBQ buzz comes not from competitions but from charity events and teaching, which I know and respect as huge driving force in American BBQ. If you ever want to see a 350lb redneck cry like a baby, just see what happens when you drag him away from his pit at the end of a 3 day cook and introduce him to (in this particular instance) the disabled children his event helped. A picture that I cant forget.
To charity BBQers everywhere, I salute you.

Bobby
 
If you were in it for the money, you'd likely need a psych consult. Very few folks make a living off competing.

We don't have the gear, or in the current financial climate, the wherewithal to compete more than 6 or so times per year, but the weekends I've spent at comps, and the fun we've had with our fellow teams is about my favorite way to spend my vacation days!
 
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