Filling dead time during commercial breaks in NBA arenas has become an art form, as a dedicated team of game ops people come up with ideas to entertain the fans in the arena.
This can mean mascot shenanigans, dance-team routines, or outside entertainment, but there’s nothing like a good fan competition. Typically, this involves fans competing with pre-recorded player videos in trivia competitions or doing on-court shooting contests. Every once in awhile, there’s a true moment of inspiration from the game ops crew, and they find a brand partnership that allows them to really step out of the box.
In Indiana, that means working with legendary St. Elmo’s Steak House for a shrimp cocktail eating competition on the floor. Fans are given 45 seconds to try and put down an entire shrimp cocktail, and on Wednesday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in town, those in the arena were treated to a truly spectacular achievement as one man housed his shrimp cocktail in an unbelievable 13 seconds, stunning the in-arena host and everyone else.
It's a new shrimp record! 🍤😳@stelmo pic.twitter.com/U2fc3TnnO6
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 14, 2019
There’s a lot going on here, so let’s break this down bit by bit.
First, my guy in the middle attacks his shrimp cocktail with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. It appears the shrimps have the tail removed before they get going (which is wise), and with that obstruction removed, my guy shovels in all the shrimp and sauce in what appears to be two heaping fork-fulls.
The gentleman on the right is doing his best and appears to be working at a pretty robust pace, but is no match for Eric, the King of Shrimps.
I want to focus more on the man on the left who, after one bite, has the look of a man that regrets all the choices in his life that led him to eating shrimp cocktail at center court of a Pacers game.
Just look at the difference here. The pain on the left and the focus of a superior athlete on the right, pushing through the pain of the spicy cocktail sauce, preparing for the final heaping bite to bring him shrimp glory.
