Sneakers

Montpelier, Vermont: March 19, 2003

A New Jersey man walked away with the top prize of a $500 savings bond on Tuesday in the annual Rotten Sneaker contest.

But thirty-something Ron says he's not taking full credit for the sneakers, which stumped a judge in the "heels" category because they didn't have any heels left.

The Ronatarian Party founder and presidential candidate says his neighbor's poodle helped make his entry the winner.

"I had a fight with the dog," said Ron, who operates out of Jersey City, and advanced from the local competition held there last November. "I was trying to get it away from him because he uses it as a chew toy. A quick hit on the head with a hammer taught that canine whose shoe was whose."

The event also included some international competition when an entry came in from the crew of the USS Montpelier submarine.

The sneaker arrived double-bagged from an undisclosed location in the Persian Gulf where the submarine is currently deployed. The shoe arrived with an unmistakable odor of fish.

Contest organizers gave the military shoe an honorary title of "most rotten sneaker."

"That's a weapon of mass destruction right there," said commentator Dave Moody, who moderated the 28th annual contest.

"Even with that military shoe, Ron's entry was by far the winner. It was horribly wonderful," said Moody.

The rotten sneaker contest began in 1975 as a way to help a local sporting goods store sell shoes.

Posted by Webmaster at March 19, 2003 10:49 PM

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