I think we stumbled on presentation last year, so that's probably one place we can improve our scoring appreciably.
As for the quality of the product, I'm willing to bet it's because the judges are laypeople, not "legit" bbq judges. It's like the chili competitions that I've done. There's damn fine chili that gets ranked low, and overly sweet and tomatoey stuff that gets accolades. Next competition, it's reversed. Just depends on who's judging.
I think the "run what you brung" strategy probably makes the most sense, sticking with something that one of us has cooked before in the past, and we think has turned out well. However, if we're going to change anything up or do something new, we ought to get together one weekend and try it out to see what works well together.
As for manning the smoker, after really thinking about it, I'd honestly rather be barking to get people's choice donations. If Brian and Matt want to cook, I think that'd work out well. I'll be happy to make sauce again if folks thought that was good. I know I need to make about double, maybe triple, what I made last year.
As for booth accoutrement. I've got a busted ass 37" MT-R and a set of third row 80 seats.
From talking to Eric a couple weeks ago, it sounds like it's going to be more crowded this year with the number of teams, so we may not have much room for decorations. I like the banner idea a lot.