They hate your freedoms, and your pork byproducts.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I’m almost expecting this will end up in a heavily-hyped one-on-one match-up to be held on Labor Day weekend. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they have it in Atlantic City or Las Vegas and broadcast it live on PPV.
Kobayashi-Chestnut could be this generation’s Ali-Frazier.
Yeah, kidding atcha (cheating in poker in addition to cheating at eating) - never mind.
That would be very very sad.
Well, I wasn’t serious when I posted that. Still, I wouldn’t entirely rule it out (unfortunately).
At the risk of being labeled a philistine, I’ll admit to getting more enjoyment out of the Kobayashi/Chestnut matchups then most any other televised sport event that I’ve watched (with the disclaimer that I don’t actually watch sports unless I end up hanging out with friends that are interested in a particular match).
Granted its not exactly the most sublime of physical activities, but its still pretty intense to watch the Nathans contest the last few years. The first time Chestnut beat Kobayashi, both of them not only past the previous record, but blew past it with a huge amount of time left on the clock. Thats pretty different then most sports, where records, when broken, are improved by small fractions of a percent each time. And I really like the goofy nationalism angle to having what ought to be the an American celebration of gluttony on our own national holiday being utterly dominated by a Japanese guy, and then finally having an American “bring back the mustard belt”.
Plus after watching, I don’t want to eat for the rest of the week, so its good when I’m trying to loose weight.
I read on Yahoo Japan News that Kobayashi refused to sign whatever contract would have allowed him to participate in this contest because it stipulated he could not participate in other eating contests. Fella wanted to keep his options open.
So far I’ve only found info in Japanese-language sources, but I’d be glad to link those if anyone is interested.
Stuffing hot dogs into one’s mouth does not constitute a sport.
Eh, its people competing against each other in a physically challenging activity. I guess you can quibble over semantics, but sport seems the best word for it to me.
Ha.
One of my fondest memories of my time in the US was flicking through the channels, and seeing this competition - an american (presumably Chestnut) was locked in a head to head duel with a foreigner (presumably Kobayashi).
When the American won, the commentator said “This must be one of the greatest moments in American sporting history!!!”
I laughed for about three weeks - presumably roughly as long as it takes to digest all those hotdogs
Edit: just found the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-2NKUlzns
Skip to 4.20 to hear - what he actually said was “39 seconds remain, this would be the greatest moment in the history of American sport if Chestnut can bring the belt home to Coney Island”
The one source I have seen mention this gave his income from eating contests at $150,000 per year. He made $20,000 off this win alone. Good work if you can get it and he has a regular job on the side. Hopefully, he is setting aside some of his winning for the enevitable health problems he will have later on from consuming around 15000 calories in 10 mins.
There are a couple women competitors who are under 120 pounds. They are competitive. Sonya is called " one of the 4 horsemen of the esophagus". I like the humor . The introductions are very funny.
I suspect those calories don’t have much chance to get digested. 
I believe one of them is a Japanese lady - a formidable competitor called “the Black Widow”.
http://www.sonyatheblackwidow.com/
She’s Korean-American, IIRC.
I believe the “Black Widow” was listed as 105 lbs…if I remember right.
I know they said that if you upchuck before the end of the competition (referred to as a “Reversal of Fortune”), you are disqualified.
But what I wonder is do the competitors upchuck after the competition? Only rarely, or as a matter of practice?
I would be curious to see what volume 60 hot dogs and buns (and some liquid) would take up in someone’s stomach, even if thoroughly masticated, although it seems they dont’ have a lot of time for chewing…
I’ve often suspected this. Anyone know if it is really true? Is it possible that much of this food just passes right through with little or no metabolization?
As a San Jose resident, I don’t know whether to be proud of local boy Chesnut, or dismayed because he’s all we’ve got.
Great website! I particularly liked the FAQ. Quoting selected items from there:
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WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE NICK NAME, “THE BLACK WIDOW?” Because like the female black widow spider, it is my desire to eliminate the males.
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DO YOU EVER GET SICK AFTER A CONTEST? No I don’t. [from this and other replies I get the distinct impression that she doesn’t throw up the contents of a competitive eating contest afterwards.]
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IN COMPETITIVE EATING ARE THERE SEPARATE CATEGORIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN? No, men and women compete against each other. This is because there just aren’t enough women in CE to merit having separate divisions.
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HOW TALL ARE YOU? I am 5’5."** My weight is 100 lbs.** [bolding mine]
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SONYA, EIGHT YEARS OF COMPETITIVE EATING MUST HAVE TAKEN A TOLL ON YOUR BODY. HOW SOON WILL YOU RETIRE? Look, I don’t think about retiring. Just this month (June 2010) I got a physical from my doc. My total cholesterol is less than 140, and my blood pressure is less than 130/80; and that’s without any prescription drugs (nor do I take vitamins).