Giant’s BBQ Battle winner Good Googly Goo reflects on the Black roots of barbecue 

By Amber D. DoddSpecial to the AFROadodd@afro.com& Amid a major heat wave, 35 teams further turned up the heat June 23 during the 32nd Annual Giant® National Capital Barbecue Battle, a delicious competition featuring categories such as pork, brisket, chicken and original sauce, which was held in downtown Washington, D.C.& For the Good Googly Goo BBQ team, after a long day toiling over hot coals, their competitive fire waned—unlike the sun’s heat. Both a vendor and competitor, Norris “Syd” Sydnor, founder of Good Googly Goo, worked until he couldn’t.“Last night, I was ready to throw the towel in on the competition,” Sydnor said. “It was 2 a.m., no sleep, just been in the hot sun all day. I dug down deep and got some willpower somewhere.”The work paid off. Sydnor and the Good Googly Goo crew would be named the barbecue battle’s grand champion, earning their title by placing in a series of subcategories.& “It means so much to get this championship right here in the nation’s capital,” said Sydnor, a Mitchellville, Md. native. During the Giant BBQ battle, Sydnor and other Black barbecue gurus sat down with the AFRO to talk about the Black history behind the beloved summer...