"I usually don't have a burger, a brat, and a steak but, it is 4th of July. And I need the energy if I'm gonna start blowin crap up. It's what the founding fathers would want..."
In honor of the Fourth of July I had decided to post today solely about one of my favorite sporting events of the season, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest which has been held on this day every year since 1916 on Coney Island in New York. Joey Chestnut holds the world record for the amount of hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes. He ate 68 hot dogs and buns in 2009 and will try and seek his fifth straight Mustard Belt this year. Over 1.7 million people watch the event yearly on ESPN's broadcast at noon EST. Last year there were 40,000 people present at the corner of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue for the event and they are expecting about 50,000 people to arrive at the annual event this year.
The field this year is extremely competitive and features a few of my favorite competitive eaters. Of course Joey Chestnut will be there but the real question is if the Japanese former champion of the world will participate this year after causing a disturbance from the crowd last year, Takeru Kobayashi. Kobayashi has been known for his famous "Shake" to really pack away the hot dogs but had a jaw injury that derailed his grip on the title but was compounded last year by not signing a contract with Major League Eating which prohibited him from participating. Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas is always the best woman's hope and holds the women's record with 41 in 10 minutes in 2009. Patrick Bertoletti has finished in 3rd the last two years with Tim "Eater X" Janus (my personal favorite) finishing 2nd last year and 3rd in 2008. His personal best is 45 hot dogs but holds world records in tiramisu, tamales, cannolis, burritos, Ramen noodles, fried pork rinds, nigiri sushi, boneless buffalo wings, and cupcakes.
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| Above: Joey Chestnut does his thing! (NYdailynews.com) Below: Tim Janus woofing down a dog (NYdailynews.com) |
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