Who Butchered Barbecuelooza? We’re Looking At You, Lenexa.

With the American Royal Barbecue competition on next week at Kemper Arena’s parking lot, around 150 teams from across the country are looking for an edge as they battle over smokers in the parking lot. So it’s suspicious timing for the American Royal’s mascot – Barbecuelooza – to be beheaded.

Sure, the official story sounds plausible. Susan Fox, sponsorship manager for the American Royal, parks the bull on a flatbed trailer in front of her Northland house. She wakes up to dogs barking at 3 a.m. In the middle of the street, Barbecuelooza has been toppled and beheaded like a statue of Saddam Hussein. Sponsorship coordinator Chad Mantooth thinks the likely culprits are rowdy teens, considering that Fox’s home isn’t far from a high school.