sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Greg Hurst appreciates his opportunities to cut through the fat and set the record straight. That鈥檚 especially true when it comes to the rumor that鈥檚 been marinating over the last 24 hours. 

The thing causing the sizzle? The rumor that the New Mexico United forward was carried by Journal reporter Nakayla McClelland 鈥� with some help from Rio Grande Credit Union鈥檚 David Miles 鈥� during the Big Texan 72 oz. steak challenge, which made an appearance in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on Friday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not true,鈥� Hurst said with a smirk. 鈥淚 finished my steak first. I could have kept going, but I had to stop because I had the game (Saturday). So, I can go home happy with that. 

鈥淏ut appreciate you asking and thanks for clearing that up. I can鈥檛 have my name tarnished like that.鈥�

That was best left for the used utensils afterward. The challenge, after all, was quite simple 鈥� or rather, straightforward.

Traditionally held at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and Brewery in Amarillo, Texas, but making stops around Route 66 to honor the highway鈥檚 100th anniversary, individual participants are required to eat a 4 1/2-pound steak, three shrimp, a baked potato, a side salad and a roll. Teams split everything except the dough. 

Each entry had an hour to show they were a cut above in front of a crowd and the event鈥檚 MC.

鈥淚 used to watch 鈥楳an vs. Food鈥� when I was younger all the time and even then, I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen a steak that big,鈥� Hurst said. 鈥淪o fair play to the guy who did it themselves. That was impressive. I could never imagine doing that.鈥�

The thing is, Hurst almost didn鈥檛 have a seat at the table.

United President Ron Patel was initially supposed to be the club鈥檚 representative, but with a 6-week-old daughter at home, he opted to pass the opportunity along to goalkeeper Kris Shakes.

That idea got the boot, too. A conflict on the schedule. So, Hurst, who hails from Scotland, filled the spot in the lineup 鈥� with an open mind, and of course, an open stomach.

His trio, which featured McClelland and Miles, finished in around 33 minutes, per McClelland. 

It helped that the steak was medium rare 鈥� 鈥淚 think anything other than that and you鈥檙e not doing it right.鈥� Sorry, Billy Hurst (Greg鈥檚 father, who is a fan of the well done variety) 鈥� while the sides were also 鈥済reat.鈥�

There was also the matter of having some extra motivation, which provided a bit more seasoning to the mix.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have people watch me and embarrass myself,鈥� Hurst said. 鈥淎nd I didn鈥檛, so I was happy with that.

鈥�... I said to Jules (Myers, United鈥檚 senior manager of production and impact) after, 鈥業f we have any more eating competitions, sign me up.鈥� It would be great if it wasn鈥檛 the day before a game.  I鈥檓 not a big eater, but something came over me there and I just decided I was going to eat as much as I can.鈥�

Hurst鈥檚 preference? Perhaps another steak challenge. Maybe even some haggis. 鈥淚 can put a lot of haggis away.鈥� Oh, those Scottish roots.

鈥淭o be a part of Route 66 and what they were doing was really cool for me, not being from America,鈥� Hurst said. 鈥淕rowing up and learning about it a little bit, it was pretty cool to have that experience and the chance to do stuff like that.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .