I attended the Gary Maddox Barbecue Challenge with my daughter and one of her friends. It's a fundraiser that's held yearly outside of Citizens Bank Park before a Phillies game. There were about 20 restaurants and a number of amateurs competing in various categories. During the competition you can go around and sample ribs, pulled pork, and chicken from the competitors. Tickets are 3 for $10 and 7 for $20.
We had a great time sampling the barbecue. It wasn't really crowded while we were there and some of the restaurants were very generous with their portions. Typically, you received about 2 ribs for 1 ticket. I tried at least 8 types of ribs, some pulled pork and a few pieces of chicken. My vote for best ribs was El Vez. I went back to the El Vez booth a few times after my initial tasting. I'll definitely visit the restaurant to see if they remain at the top of my list. (Check out the Messy & Picky review of El Vez.)
Following that we went to the Phillies game to see them play the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies lost 9-7. Ryan Howard was up in the bottom of then ninth with two on base and two out. He struck out. 
I hear so much talk on sports radio about how people can't get into the Phillies. Their not happy with some of the moves they recently made. They always collapse at the end of the season. Although some of the criticism is deserved we had a great time at the game. It was exciting because this team never appears to be out of the game when they are down. The crowd was into the game, I think there were about 38,000 in attendance. And the people who were sitting in our area were great. I had no problem getting into the game.
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