It tasted great, and it was really filling.
Really filling.
You have to learn pace. You've got to be disciplined. You've got to endure.
It's not that easy to be a judge for Conway Christian School's annual tailgaiting contest.
As soon as he spots the guys with the judge's badges, Randy Sims, who oversees First State Bank's grilling crew, orders the grillers to fix about four plates with the works from the giant smoker. We get a meat lover's delight: tender, nicely marinated pork loin that had been in the smoker since mid-afternoon; perfectly seasoned ribs that fell off the bone to the touch; two different kinds of sausages; a chicken wing and a hamburger.
"Anybody want chips with that?" Sims says with a smile.
You've got to be kidding. This was our first stop.
At other booths, we were presented with: 1. a superbly barbecued chicken breast with homemade chipotle mayonnaise; 2. a plate of of chips filled with three different types of dip and sauces and Mexican tea; 3. five different kinds of chili; 4. a large slice of cola cake; 5. a cup of barbecued shrimp; 6. assorted homemade cookies; 7. several different types of cheese dip; 8. slices of specially seasoned and prepared brats; 9. a large turkey leg; 10. a variety of fruit on a stick.
Those are just the highlights. There were all sorts of munchies and little things, many that we had to pass up on because our stomachs had surrendered.
That's why the eyes rolled about the eighth stop when someone shouted, "How about a nice piece of cake."
Judging this year were Cliff Garrison, former Hendrix basketball coach and athletic director; Jim Piggott, a Faulkner County sheriff's deputy; Woody Cummins, a longtime educator and community leader who just had a school named after him, and myself. None of us has been known to turn our nose to good food.
And we were severely challenged.
Four years ago, some folks at CCS got the inspiration to get groups and organizations together at the school for a themed tailgate before one game each year. Someone got the idea to make it a contest and have prizes. Someone got the idea to judge not only on food but have categories for party atmosphere and individual awards for game attire.
The Eagles, in their Arkansas Activities Association debut for this tailgate, were playing the Quitman Bulldogs.
Doggone it. We had a recurring theme: One group of fans and parents set up a "dog pound" and dressed as dog catchers, complete with nets. We saw all kinds of platters with dogs in a blanket, plenty of hot dogs on a grill and dozens of different colored cookies shaped like dog bones.
Very willingly, I've helped judge this event for four years, and I've learned a few tricks. I've also learned none of them really work after you start sampling the food. It's hard to pace yourself whether you hit the First State pros either at the start, middle or end.
And the food competition has been enhanced and has gotten tougher. The First State folks won for the fourth straight year, but the gap is rapidly closing between them and the rest of the pack.
The difficult part is trying to manage a clipboard with the judging forms to take notes and all the plates, finger food, stuff on a stick and a drink. Even with folks offering to hold stuff, you don't have enough hands or fingers.
And it's pretty much impossible to do this and do it right with getting cheese dip, grease and barbecue sauce on your judging form.
Cliff Garrison brought along his wife, Meribeth (a veteran of many a school carnival) to help us organize our thoughts and connect names and faces with food.
And even with her capable help, it took us 20 minutes, with plenty of erasures on our judging forms, to finally settle on a top three in each category. And to do that, we had to run part of the gauntlet again.
As a reporter, I discovered another problem with judging food and tailgates with the proper research.
The game between Conway Christian and Quitman was high-scoring, full of up-and-down offense and big plays and highly entertaining. Lots of stuff to write down.
And I needed a nap.
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)
