As some of our more dedicated readers may recall, last week we were waiting anxiously to hear whether or not Smoke In Da Eye competition barbecue team had been selected to compete in this year's Jack Daniels World Championship (find out more about the Jack here).

Well the bad news is, we lost out (though we proudly lost to two great teams, Lunchmeat and Mr. Bobo's Traveling BBQ All Stars) on a trip to Lynchburg, TN this year.

The good news is, we're going to the American Royal (read more about one of the country's biggest and most prestigious contests here) in Kansas City, MO for the first time ever to compete against approximately 100 other grand champions in the American Royal Invitational.

Even more exciting is the fact that we are basically showing up with little more than the clothes on our backs, flying in two days before the October 3rd invitational and relying on the countless friends we have made across the country to piece together what we need to compete in chicken, ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.

So now comes the hard part, figuring out exactly what we need to get it done, from the big things like a cooler or two to the little things like a couple disposable aluminum trays.  Fortunately our good friend, Dr. BBQ, is allowing us to utilize his team site on Saturday so we are already well ahead by eliminating the need for canopies, water, tables and countless other items. 

And thanks to the generosity of fellow BBQ-Brethren.com members, Smokehouse 72 Competition Cooking Team, we have two trusty Weber Smokey Mountains to cook on Friday night (just like cooking at home!).  Finally, we just heard that fellow Long Island team, Swamp Pit BBQ, will be making the trip down to Kansas City, as well, and have generously offered to throw a box of odds and ends in to their trailer for the ride down.

So now comes the fun part...the wait.  We've heard nothing but amazing things about the Royal and can't wait to go hang out with several old friends, meet countless others, and get our butts thoroughly kicked by some of the finest barbecue cooks in the country!  We'll be sure to post updates often and have plenty of video cameras ready to capture the action so stay tuned...

- SmokeInDaEye.com, Home of Bigger, Badder, Bolder BBQ(c)