Spotlight - Red Alert

Our league showcases some of Des Moines' finest hockey talent every Wednesday night.  Most fans who attend and follow our league know our players by their hockey skills and ability, but don't know the player's off-ice activities and accomplishments.  We will begin showcasing many of our players throughout the season to give all our fans an inside look at the secret side of our athletes.

This edition focuses on Red Alert teammates Josh Feathers and Tony Hansen.  Most know Tony as Red Alert's standout goalie last season, and now star defenseman.  Josh "Dobbie" Feathers replaced Tony this season as the team's captain due to his leadership on and off the ice.  Even though most associate these 2 players as the best in the game of hockey, they don't know how Tony & Dobbie  dominate in another arena.

On July 4th, 2001, Tony was sitting on his sofa drinking a Heineken while flipping through the channels on TV.  He ran across the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and witnessed Takeru Kobayashi down 50 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes to win the event.  A phone call to his good friend Dobbie was made shortly after and their future was about top change.

Tony & Dob entered the obscure world of Tag Team Food Eating and began what can now be considered a dynasty.  They've traveled the world, competed and won many titles.  These titles include:
World Food Tag Team Champions - 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
US National Tag Team Champions - 2002 - 2012
Italian Pizza Eating Title  - 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
No-Hands Chili Eating Spectacular - 2008, 2009, 2010
Red Lobster "All you can Eat" Shrimp Competition 2012,2013

Once they made the decision to jump into the food eating ring, the results were remarkable.  In their rookie season, they took the national tour by storm and won the US title in 2002.  They have dominated the American circuit by winning 11 consecutive National titles.

Hansen & Feathers 2009 Nationals

Most have seen the individual eating contests and understand that the winner is decided by who can eat the most in a specific amount of time.  In Tag Team eating, the teammates must feed each other.  This is where a connection between partners is key.

Young Feathers in training

"I know exactly how fast I can shove a taco in Tony's mouth" stated Dobbie.  Most teams buckle under the pressure and panic during an event.  They see their opponents leading and they start to shovel food to their partner faster.  "Not us" said Tony, "I can sense when Dob is about to hurl and I back off."  It's this type of non-verbal communication that allows them to be successful.  This was evident in 2007 at the World Championships in Riga, Latvia.  With 3 minutes left, Tony & Dob were down to the German team of Zimmerman/Klein.  The Germans were ahead by 9 meatballs and felt like the title was in hand.  They made the mistake of "gapping" (defined as taking a quick drink between food consumption).  Tony & Dobbie noticed this move and believed this was the much needed mistake they were looking for. "I saw that look in Tony's eyes that said 'you just keep feeding me those meatballs' and I knew it was on" said Dobbie  They were right.  At a rate of 47 MPM (meatballs per minute) during the last 3 minutes, the US duo beat the Defending champs to take the World Title once again.

Hansen showing off in lounge

So the next time you make a move around Tony on the ice, or steal the puck from Feathers when he's on a break away, don't make the mistake of going out to eat with them and trying to challenge to a wing eating competition.