This 4th of July juggernaut is about as American as it gets. Tons of food, gross over-consumption, and controversy—it’s got it all. Funny, I can’t stomach watching any other form of competitive eating, but there’s just something about Nathan’s fairly disgusting throwdown—a singular sense of the absurd, perhaps—that is impossible to turn away from. Consider the ridiculousness of it all: Everyday people from all walks of life who pay taxes and join the PTA actually do this for a living, and survive. They also enjoy quirky celebrity of a sort and, as members of Major League Eating, tour their very own circuit. Only in America.
For me the fascination begins and ends with the sport’s larger-than-life personalities. Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas and reigning champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who last year downed 54 beefy links in 10 minutes to take the crown, are heroes of the sport. The nemesis role belongs to six-time Nathan’s titleholder, Takeru Kobayashi, who hoovers food with samurai-like attack and actually bested a 1,089-pound Kodiak bear in a head-to-head eating duel. Plus, the monikers are gold.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has taken place every year since its inaugural chow-down in 1916, except, oddly enough, when it was cancelled to accommodate that other American pastime, protesting; first in 1941, when an objection to the war in Europe was staged, and again in 1971, when the dog days of summer halted for a stand against “free love” and civil unrest.
I’m proud to say that this year is free and clear and that I’m pulling for The Black Widow. How about you? Send me your reply on Facebook or on Twitter @ThorntonEditing!
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