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Saboury dominates Fat Chicken Eating Contest

Marlon Pitter
Connector Editor 

While the other 19 contestants in the Fat Chicken Eating Contest seemed unable to hold their sandwiches, let alone eat them, Saede Saboury annihilated Suppa’s specialty sub and took home first place in the competition.

Saboury, a senior finance major, said he had just eaten dinner before participating in the challenge hosted by the Fox Common Tuesday night. That did not stop him, however, from eating the sandwich — stuffed with chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, French fries and marinara sauce — in less than ten minutes and being the only competitor to finish it.

“Mentally, I wasn’t ready for it, but I knew I wanted it,” he said.

Other contestants, like Jean Lafontant, say they were discouraged from trying to win the competition by Saboury’s ability to eat an entire Fat Chicken so quickly.

“When the first guy got up and I wasn’t even halfway done, I was like, ‘I’m just going to take the free meal right now,’” said Lafontant.

As for the sandwich, Lafontant said the Fat Chicken did not faze him, as he had successfully eaten one in the past.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it would be too bad,” he said. “It didn’t look so intimidating at first.”

To win the contest, Saboury took an approach that no others had implemented at the start of the competition: Saboury hydrated his sandwich by soaking it in a large cup filled with water.

“I saw the bread was very crispy and hard,” Saboury said. “I don’t know if it had been sitting out, but I just decided to moisten it up a little bit and [figured it would] be easier to swallow.”

While most spectators were there to enjoy the competition, Vanessa Adebayo says she was skeptical to some competitors’ motives for entering the contest.

“It’s funny how some people came for free food, but shout-out to the winner,” said Adebayo. “ I don’t know how he did it and didn’t throw up.”

Duvivier Guignard, another contestant, says he was motivated to complete the challenge, but the sandwich may have been the true incentive.

“I got a good meal out of it,” said Guignard.

Like Adebayo, Fox Common employee Nana Agyemang says he also noticed differences between many of the students who entered the competition.

“I think it’s always cool to see who’s eating [to win] and who’s actually eating for the fun of it,” he said.

As both a spectator and employee, Agyemang says he was pleased with the turnout of the event and watching it unfold.

“CAPA originated it, but we took the idea and embraced it and took it to a whole new level tonight,” Agyemang said.

On the heels of victory in the Fat Chicken Eating Contest, Saboury says he sees himself competing in other eating contests in the future.

“If you ask any of my friends, they know I love eating,” Saboury says. “I’m down to participate just for the food.”

 

Marlon Pitter is a former editor-in-chief of the UMass Lowell Connector. Hailing from Hartford, Conn., he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in journalism and professional writing and a digital media minor in 2017. Follow him on Twitter @marlonpresents.

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