Man who finished last in his fantasy football league is forced to spend 24 hours at a Waffle House

A Mississippi man who came in last in his fantasy football league was forced to spend 24 hours in a Waffle House — but he was able to shave off one hour of his punishment for every waffle he consumed. 

Lee Sanderlin, an investigative and political reporter for the Clarion-Ledger in Jacksonville, live-tweeted his unforgettable journey, which started a little after 4 p.m. Central time on Thursday.  

The 25-year-old spent a total of 15 hours in the restaurant after eating nine waffles. He chronicled the highs and lows of the challenge, from his physical discomfort to the songs that played.  

Sentence: Lee Sanderlin, 25, was forced to spend 24 hours in a Waffle House in Brandon, Mississippi, as punishment for coming in last in his fantasy in his fantasy football league 

Challenge: The reporter for the Clarion-Ledger live-tweeted his journey, which started a little after 4 p.m. Central time on Thursday. Every waffle he ate shaved off an hour of his time

Challenge: The reporter for the Clarion-Ledger live-tweeted his journey, which started a little after 4 p.m. Central time on Thursday. Every waffle he ate shaved off an hour of his time 

Sanderlin’s candid tweets went viral after attracting the attention of tens of thousands of people who became invested in how many waffles he was going to force down during his overnight stay.  

‘I am coming to you live from a Brandon, Mississippi Waffle House. I, a total loser, came in last place in my fantasy football league. As punishment, I spend 24 hours in a Waffle House. Every waffle I eat shaves an hour off the clock. It’s 4:07 Central,’ he wrote at the start of the lengthy thread. 

Sanderlin, who brought plenty of reading material and downloaded some podcasts to occupy his time, ordered two waffles to start. 

‘Already my stomach is rumbling,’ he admitted after eating them. ‘Gonna be a long one. The staff does not believe me that I’ll be here that long… little do they know.’

The journalist managed to get four waffles down in just one and a half hours, but he was left feeling ‘immense discomfort’ with 18.5 hours to go. 

Guidelines: Per the rules made by his fantasy football league commissioner, he could sit in the parking  lot and puke without it counting against him

Guidelines: Per the rules made by his fantasy football league commissioner, he could sit in the parking  lot and puke without it counting against him 

Roughly an hour later, two young children requested Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’ on the chain’s TouchTunes, which inspired him to order his fifth waffle. 

‘Per my league commissioner, I am allowed to sit in the parking lot and also if I puke it won’t count against me,’ he noted. ‘This won’t recalibrate the strategy tho.’

After struggling to finish, he waited 45 minutes to eat his sixth as he continued his valiant effort to reduce his Waffled House sentence. 

‘Y’all they’re going down like cement now, and the heart is beating real heavy-like. I’m the only non-employee in here,’ he tweeted. ‘Got half of waffle 6 left and so many hours.’

Sanderlin ended up going outside for ‘a little puke and rally’ before he could finish it. 

What a story: Sanderlin chronicled the highs and lows of the challenge, from his physical discomfort to the songs that played in the restaurant

What a story: Sanderlin chronicled the highs and lows of the challenge, from his physical discomfort to the songs that played in the restaurant

At this point, he had witnessed his first employee shift change and had thrown up in the bushes. 

He optimistically ordered a seventh waffle, but soon realized he wasn’t able to eat it. 

‘My body is in revolt/shutting down,’ he explained. ‘It’s time to sit out for a while. Gotta rest up for the stretch run. Right now I’m on pace to leave 10:07 a.m. CT.’

‘Full of waffles but devoid of life,’ he added.  

Sanderlin then went to charge his cellphone in the parking lot for a few hours before heading back into the Waffle House.    

Going viral: Sanderlin's candid tweets went viral after attracting the attention of tens of thousands of people who became invested in how many waffles he could eat

Going viral: Sanderlin’s candid tweets went viral after attracting the attention of tens of thousands of people who became invested in how many waffles he could eat

‘We’ve entered peak boredom hours,’ he tweeted after midnight. 

‘All the staff went out for their smoke breaks. This Waffle House doesn’t feel like a waffle home with no one here.’ 

He let his seventh waffle sit for three hours before forcing himself to eat it ice cold, which made it that much more difficult to consume. 

At 4:07 a.m. — 12 hours into his stay — he decided that he would order two more waffles at 6 a.m. to ensure he would be done by 7 a.m. 

‘Miley Cyrus’ The Climb is playing in this Waffle House and I think it’s time to try and put down those last 2 waffles and go home,’ he tweeted. This was real. At times it was fun. But, it was never really fun.’

Success! Sanderlin spent a total of 15 hours at a Waffle House after eating nine waffles. He left around 7 a.m. Central time on Friday, swearing he will never eat another waffle again

Success! Sanderlin spent a total of 15 hours at a Waffle House after eating nine waffles. He left around 7 a.m. Central time on Friday, swearing he will never eat another waffle again

Unsurprisingly, he struggled to finish his second waffle, sharing a photo of what remained on his plate — the only thing that was stopping him from going home. 

To give him the boost he desperately needed, someone logged into the TouchTunes and played Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Homeward Bound.’

When Sanderlin was finally done, he tweeted a photo of his empty syrup-covered plate as well as a picture of himself giving a thumbs up inside the Waffle House. 

‘The sun is rising, it’s a new day and I’m never eating waffles again,’ he wrote. ‘That’s 9 waffles and 15 hours in this restaurant. 

‘S/o to the staff for letting me hang out on a slow night (I tipped them well don’t worry). This was horrible and I recommend no one ever do this.’