This week Chris and Adam reflect on the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and dream of one day competiting for glory.
Chris
Every year I look forward to the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July. In recent years, we have seen epic battles between Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut, the two best hot dog eaters on this planet. I was happy to see Chestnut take the title this for America this year on Independence Day.
The best part about the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is the ridiculous coverage on ESPN. This year, they compared Kobayashi’s hot dog dunking ability to Kobe Bryant’s basketball dunking ability. They also keep track of each competitor’s previous eating championships, which can get very strange. Among those in this year’s field included the World Champion Eater of Fried Okra, and a woman who could eat 10% of her body weight in cheesecake.
This truly is a unique event that has become an American tradition. I look forward to watching this event for years to come, and cheering on Joey Chestnut on the 4th.
Adam
I have never watched the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest, but Chris reminded me this year so I treated myself to a Ruthian display of chewing and swallowing. After the competition this weekend, I was left wondering who is the better competitor eater: Takeru Kobayashi or Joey Chestnut? The debate is not just who is better currently, but who is the best ever. No one else enters the conversation which is why ESPN’s coverage barely left the two competitors, who were seated side-by-side, during the 10 minute race. Other competitors who could make waves in the future, Pat Bertoletti and Tim “Eater X” Janus, appear to be a few years of training and development away from seriously contending for first.
I am going to pick Chestnut as the best competitive eater ever. Although he only has 3 titles to “Tsunami” Kobayashi’s 6, Chestnut has smashed world records on his way to his recent 3-peat. In the postgame interview following his stunning display of digestive endurance, Chestnut claimed that he could have eaten 71 hot dogs during the 10 minute race but that he didn’t push himself to that extreme because he already had a 3 hot dog lead on Kobayashi. To totally destroy a world record while coasting down the stretch reminds me of another world class athlete who pulled up near the finish line to showboat: Usain Bolt. Bolt and Chestnut both are young and burst onto the scene of their sports with stunning dominance. The only difference is that Chestnut has been able to maintain his dominance over a 3 year period while Bolt has only done it once. If Bolt comes to London in 2012 and breaks his sprinting records, then we can put him in the same class as Chestnut.
Comparing Chestnut to Kobayashi, I know the Tsunami has 6 titles, but Chestnut’s 3 titles have all been extremely memorable. His first title, in just his third Nathan’s competition came in 2007 when he ate a world record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. In 2008, the competition was shortened to 10 minutes because of both Chestnut and Kobayashi smashing the world record by cracking 60 in ’07. They responded by eating 59 hot dogs and going to a 5 hot dog overtime period which Chestnut won. Both 2007 and 2008 saw Chestnut stage a comeback to catch Kobayashi in the last minutes of the competition showing the drive and heart that Chestnut brings to this competition. Some of Joe Montana’s nicknames (Joe Cool, The Comeback Kid) are more appropriately bestowed on this indulger of the weenie. Chestnut completely smashed the competition in 2009 with a world record of 68 hot dogs eaten and also saw his widest margin of victory in the competition, beating Kobayashi by 3 ½ hot dogs. While Kobayashi had won 6 straight titles, he appears to be on the decline of his career, like Ken Griffey Jr. after he was traded to the Reds. Of Kobayashi’s 6 titles, only 4 set world records while Chestnut set the 12 minute mark and then consecutive 10 minute records. So in half the titles, Chestnut has almost matched Kobayashi’s world records. By continuing to set world records, Chestnut is not just winning the competition, he is continually going above and beyond what we all thought was athletically and physically possible. Man is not meant to eat so many delicious Nathan’s hot dogs, but Chestnut’s stomach of steel continues to shock and amaze us with this remarkable ability of digestion. With Kobayashi on the downside of his illustrious career, Chestnut should have a few years of easy championships before Bertoletti or Janus can challenge him. Look for Chestnut to have 5 or 6 titles and a world record of 75 hot dogs before he is seriously challenged again making him one of the United States most celebrated athletes, remembered every 4th of July when young gluttons attempt to attain the high level of accomplishment that we have been blessed to witness.
Every year I look forward to the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July. In recent years, we have seen epic battles between Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut, the two best hot dog eaters on this planet. I was happy to see Chestnut take the title this for America this year on Independence Day.
The best part about the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is the ridiculous coverage on ESPN. This year, they compared Kobayashi’s hot dog dunking ability to Kobe Bryant’s basketball dunking ability. They also keep track of each competitor’s previous eating championships, which can get very strange. Among those in this year’s field included the World Champion Eater of Fried Okra, and a woman who could eat 10% of her body weight in cheesecake.
This truly is a unique event that has become an American tradition. I look forward to watching this event for years to come, and cheering on Joey Chestnut on the 4th.
Adam
I have never watched the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest, but Chris reminded me this year so I treated myself to a Ruthian display of chewing and swallowing. After the competition this weekend, I was left wondering who is the better competitor eater: Takeru Kobayashi or Joey Chestnut? The debate is not just who is better currently, but who is the best ever. No one else enters the conversation which is why ESPN’s coverage barely left the two competitors, who were seated side-by-side, during the 10 minute race. Other competitors who could make waves in the future, Pat Bertoletti and Tim “Eater X” Janus, appear to be a few years of training and development away from seriously contending for first.
I am going to pick Chestnut as the best competitive eater ever. Although he only has 3 titles to “Tsunami” Kobayashi’s 6, Chestnut has smashed world records on his way to his recent 3-peat. In the postgame interview following his stunning display of digestive endurance, Chestnut claimed that he could have eaten 71 hot dogs during the 10 minute race but that he didn’t push himself to that extreme because he already had a 3 hot dog lead on Kobayashi. To totally destroy a world record while coasting down the stretch reminds me of another world class athlete who pulled up near the finish line to showboat: Usain Bolt. Bolt and Chestnut both are young and burst onto the scene of their sports with stunning dominance. The only difference is that Chestnut has been able to maintain his dominance over a 3 year period while Bolt has only done it once. If Bolt comes to London in 2012 and breaks his sprinting records, then we can put him in the same class as Chestnut.
Comparing Chestnut to Kobayashi, I know the Tsunami has 6 titles, but Chestnut’s 3 titles have all been extremely memorable. His first title, in just his third Nathan’s competition came in 2007 when he ate a world record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. In 2008, the competition was shortened to 10 minutes because of both Chestnut and Kobayashi smashing the world record by cracking 60 in ’07. They responded by eating 59 hot dogs and going to a 5 hot dog overtime period which Chestnut won. Both 2007 and 2008 saw Chestnut stage a comeback to catch Kobayashi in the last minutes of the competition showing the drive and heart that Chestnut brings to this competition. Some of Joe Montana’s nicknames (Joe Cool, The Comeback Kid) are more appropriately bestowed on this indulger of the weenie. Chestnut completely smashed the competition in 2009 with a world record of 68 hot dogs eaten and also saw his widest margin of victory in the competition, beating Kobayashi by 3 ½ hot dogs. While Kobayashi had won 6 straight titles, he appears to be on the decline of his career, like Ken Griffey Jr. after he was traded to the Reds. Of Kobayashi’s 6 titles, only 4 set world records while Chestnut set the 12 minute mark and then consecutive 10 minute records. So in half the titles, Chestnut has almost matched Kobayashi’s world records. By continuing to set world records, Chestnut is not just winning the competition, he is continually going above and beyond what we all thought was athletically and physically possible. Man is not meant to eat so many delicious Nathan’s hot dogs, but Chestnut’s stomach of steel continues to shock and amaze us with this remarkable ability of digestion. With Kobayashi on the downside of his illustrious career, Chestnut should have a few years of easy championships before Bertoletti or Janus can challenge him. Look for Chestnut to have 5 or 6 titles and a world record of 75 hot dogs before he is seriously challenged again making him one of the United States most celebrated athletes, remembered every 4th of July when young gluttons attempt to attain the high level of accomplishment that we have been blessed to witness.
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3 comments:
Chestnut should have a few years of easy championships before Bertoletti or Janus can challenge him. Look for Chestnut to have 5 or 6 titles and a world record of 75 hot dogs before he is seriously challenged again making him one of the United States most celebrated athletes, remembered every 4th of July when young gluttons attempt to attain the high level of accomplishment that we have been blessed to witness.
Two things crossed my mind while watching.
Competitive eating has been around for long enough now that it's hard to believe two competitors could be so far away from the pack. I once had the exact same thought about Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. It makes me wonder if there are "performance enhancers" for eating?
On the other hand, competitive eating hasn't been around long enough to really see what the long-term physical effects will be on these guys. From what I understand, there is intense dieting and training behind the scenes, but you have to expect problems at some point for these eaters.
You could get a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head up a bull's ass, but wouldn't you rather take the butcher's word for it?
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