Schools
Corn Boil 2011 (Part 3): Corn-Eating Contest Not for the Faint of Heart
Some Major League mastication going on Wednesday at Burgess Field.
First, let me say that if I knew the rules, I would have enforced them more strictly.
The Backstory
I think Tom Rogers is terrific. He's the principal at Geneva High School and the son of the man who gave me my first break in Geneva journalism, Dave Rogers.
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(Huge parenthetical digression: For the sake of you young folk, Dave was the editor of The Geneva Republican in its heyday, when the newspaper was subscribed to by—I am not making this up—more than 90 percent of Geneva households. Look up Dave Rogers in the dictionary, and you'll see "quintessential Genevan," "great human being," "Plan Commission chairman," "Wood Award winner" and too many other accolades to mention. Tom is cut from the same cloth.)
So Tom is organizing the judging for the corn-eating contest, and he says, "We need a judge." (Oh, no. He's looking at me. Standing there with my standard-issue Patch camera and a bewildered look on my face.)
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So, now, in spite of my protest, I am the judge of the 35th annual corn-eating contest. It's my job to announce the winner.
A Problem Arises
I don't know the rules. How can I make a sound decision on the winner if there are no parameters? This is the Corn Boil, for goshsakes! It's been going on for 35 years. It is IMPORTANT!
There is much spitting of corn. I do not know if spitting is allowed. Do I disqualify someone for spitting corn out of his/her mouth?
I am very close to doing exactly that, but the Corn Boil organizers say spitting is perfectly OK, so I let it ride.
The Winners
Football quarterback Matt Willliams (good old No. 12) takes the prize, edging defending champion Ryan Powers, a sophomore. Freshman McKenna Schimmel wins it for the girls.
For Williams, the victory sets the tone and mirrors the expectations for Friday's football matchup against Rock Island. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Burgess Field. Williams' corn-eating mindset was simple, yet effective.
"Eat it ... as fast as you can," he said.
Schimmel's success was credited not only to her inate skill but through a hard study of past masters. Her technique?
"Spinning, like Powers did," she said.
Editors note: I hastily wrote down the names of all eight corn-eating contestants Wednesday, but I wasn't sure of the spellings. If you have that information, leave a shout out in the comments field or e-mail rickn@patch.com.
