Greg Lovett isn't an average teacher and coach - he is now also a tamale-eating champion. Not even the
afternoon heat and humidity during the competition could stop him from his methodical attack on each platter of tamales.

He set the new world record to be 71 pork tamales in 12 minutes, breaking the previous record of 62 that was held by the hot-dog eating champ. Lovett beat his closest rival by 15, and won first prize of $1,500.

"It was a hot day, around 98 degrees with no breeze. And humid, which always makes it hard to compete. You have to drink a lot of water to remain hydrated, and then the water fills up space," Lovett said. "I just tried to concentrate on the job at hand. Of course, I grew up in Texas, so I know how it can be down here, even in the fall. Some of my competitors were from up north. They had no idea what they were getting into."

Lovett says the contest was all about speed.

"You shove whole tamales in your mouth, wash them down with a swig of lemonade or water or cranberry juice, and then you grab another tamale and shove it in your mouth," Lovett said. "You have to be mechanical. You can't slow down. You can't think about chewing carefully or worry about food falling out of the side of your mouth. It's all about grabbing and shoving and swallowing."

Although many of his friends think he is crazy for competing in food contests like these, he still enjoys doing it.

"Tamales are nice. They're safe, unlike oysters, which are eaten raw," Lovett said. "Of course, pork tamales are big and bulky, and when you're finished, they sit in your stomach like a sack of cement."

Lovett even talked one of his friends, the assistant football coach, into competing with him.

"I don't think I've eaten 71 tamales in my life, let alone in 12 minutes. I think I finished maybe 15," Kanakis said. "The heat got to me. I got dizzy and my stomach started to turn, and I thought I was going to lose it. I may never eat another tamale."

A number of students and softball players came out to watch the competition and cheer on Lovett.

"Coach Lovett can really put away the tamales. It's strange," senior Nelly Valadez said. "On softball game trips, he's all about manners and appearances and such. We have to dress a certain way and behave a certain way. It's weird to stand there and watch him shove tamales into his mouth as fast as possible."

Even though competitive eating has been a success for him so far, Lovett doesn't plan on making this a career.

"I know this is terrible for my body. It's not natural to eat 71 tamales in 12 minutes. I went home with a bad case of indigestion," Lovett said. "I figure I'll do this for another year or so. I don't want to die of a heart attack at the age of 33."