Men Vs. Food, Sliders’ edition

Sliders Grill & Bar in Plainville, Conn. is known for its ‘Hall of Famer’ Challenge.

In fact, Sliders was highlighted in the July 25 “Fan Issue” of ESPN The Magazine because of the Hall of Famer.

We’ll reveal more details about the HOF Challenge soon.

For now, let’s just say it involves eating about 6 pounds of food in 45 minutes.

Last year, even The Travel Channel’s Man Vs. Food host Adam Richman tried it.

“The [Hall of Famer] was delicious, but brutal,” Richman told the Sliders staff.

What would happen when members of ESPN’s Communications Department took on the mountain of meat, potatoes and more?

Ben Cafardo, Stephen McDonald and I decided to chow down.

What is the ‘Hall of Famer’ you might ask?

FOOD CHALLENGE:
Eat the Sliders’ Hall of Famer, which consists of 5 – 1/2 pound burger patties, 2 slices American cheese, 2 slices Swiss, 2 slices cheddar, 3 pieces of bacon, 1 cup of pulled pork, 6 onion rings, 4 ounces of chili, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onion, a 3-piece bun and 2 pounds of fries. All of the food must be consumed in 45 minutes without leaving the table. Win, and you earn a T-shirt, the free meal and mention on Sliders’ website. Lose, and you’re stuck with the $30 tab.

http://youtu.be/o_UY3HYpuN8

We all had high hopes at the start.

We were nervous as we discussed strategies.

Should we use water?

Would ketchup or barbecue sauce help?

Should we eat standing or sitting?

Once the food arrived, we were in shock.

“It was a lot bigger than the website made it out to be,” said Cafardo. “I was shocked at the size of the meat patties.”

Each of us started out strong.

Each thought he could conquer it.

Then, one by one, each of us hit the wall.

Thirty minutes into this struggle, each of us realized this goal might not be achieved.

The waitresses and the peanut gallery that had been formed around us continued to scream encouragement.

Each of us tried to break through the wall and continue, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

We failed.

“It was Man Versus Food, and food won on this day,” said McDonald.

“All I can say is that we tried.”

We all have a new found respect for Joey Chestnut and the other professional eaters. Maybe we should have watched this SportScience video before we did this challenge.
http://youtu.be/6QW_ve1TlmI