“Major League Eating” is not a way to prove yourself
Posted by The Skyliner on February 25th, 2009Ashley Austin
Guest Writer
Most people who read this will have never met a man named Brad Sciullo, but Brad Sciullo is a famous man.
A resident of western Pennsylvania, Brad Sciullo recently set out to consume a monstrosity of a burger called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser. This “hamburger on steroids” weighed 20.2 pounds altogether, with 15 pounds attributed to the meat alone and the other five coming from the bun and toppings.
Sciullo, a 5-foot-11-inch chef, required four hours and 39 minutes to complete his task and is now the only person to have achieved such a massive goal.
“About three hours into it, things got tough,” he said.
After his performance, Sciullo was surrounded by a swarm of people all asking the same simple question: Why?
“I wanted to see if I could,” he said. And who could have given a better answer than that?
This seemingly humorous story has quite a twist to it, however, which is revealed through crunching a few numbers.
Leaving the five pounds of toppings unaccounted for, Brad Sciullo consumed 15 pounds of beef in less than five hours. Fifteen pounds equals 240 ounces, 30 times the standard portion of red meat in a day. Thus, Brad Sciullo ate in a fraction of a day what most American people eat in a month.
The major problem with this accomplishment is that there seems to be no problem at all.
Brad Sciullo is not the only person to have attempted something of this caliber, and his actions have been praised by multitudes of people across the country.
In fact, in the wake of Brad’s recent accomplishment, Nintendo has come up with a new concept centered around exactly the same thing: an all-you-can-eat video game.
The company recently released its new game called “Major League Eating” which allows players to use the Wii remote as a spoon in order to simulate the motion of filling their mouths with enormous amounts of food. The game, geared toward children, features major league eaters from around the world who pose as characters.
While this video game may seem harmless, I believe it points to a much bigger truth concerning our American ideals than most people realize. The concept of over-indulging has been a reality in America for quite some time, and “Major League Eating” is simply fueling the flames of unhealthy eating habits. The game teaches children to consider over-eating a sport, a form of everyday competition, but turning Mr. Sciullo’s actions into an everyday form of pastime is exactly what our country should be fighting against.
Although I do not agree with the way he channeled his competitive nature, I commend Brad Sciullo on his ability to achieve a goal that no one else had ever accomplished before. He was determined, and that is a fantastic way to be. But the truth of the matter is that there are much better ways for individuals to prove themselves and achieve meaningful goals.
I hope we will be able to grasp this concept sooner rather than later.
Tags: Spring 2009, Vol. 108 - Issue 5