# Joey Chestnut not competing at 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 11, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753 "2024-06-11T20:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/1 "2024-06-11T20:29:07Z")
Major League Eating has ruled the 16-time champion ineligible to compete due to his endorsement of plant-based Impossible Foods hot dogs. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/joey-chestnut-unable-to-compete-in-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-after-signing-with-plant-based-food-company/ar-BB1o2qFP](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/joey-chestnut-unable-to-compete-in-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest-after-signing-with-plant-based-food-company/ar-BB1o2qFP) I wonder who will be called up from the minors to replace him. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/2 "2024-06-11T23:32:35Z")
Joey ChestNot? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/3 "2024-06-11T23:52:56Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Major League Eating has ruled the 16-time champion ineligible to compete due to his endorsement of plant-based Impossible Foods hot dogs. Every once in a while I’ll hear some news about competitive eating which just shows me how _awesome_ that world is. I wish I could be as interested in it as I am in some of the more popular sports and become a legitimate fan, but I just can’t do it. On the other hand, I **am** a fan of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/4 "2024-06-12T05:00:42Z")
I wonder how many impossible dogs he can eat? More, less, about the same? I’m guessing it’s different but lack competitive eating skills to test. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/5 "2024-06-12T05:48:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Every once in a while I’ll hear some news about competitive eating which just shows me how _awesome_ that world is. What I like is their genteel term for barfing - _“reversal”_. “Oops, looks like Fred suffered a _reversal_ there!” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/6 "2024-06-12T05:51:47Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Major League Eating has ruled the 16-time champion ineligible to compete due to his endorsement of plant-based Impossible Foods hot dogs. I think this is really going to come back and bite them. Joey is hugely popular and a big reason why so many people eat this stuff up. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/7 "2024-06-12T06:19:34Z")
I find it somewhat surreal that Nathan’s legitimately considers Impossible Hot Dogs a dangerous competitor to the point that they had to release an incredibly pissy press statement on this. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/8 "2024-06-12T13:10:14Z")
Joey Chestnut disgusts me. He was a hero to the carnivorous world and then suddenly he’s taking money from the fascist socialist phony meat movement. He has just spit chewed bits of hot dog into the faces of the right thinking American public who reveres genuine hot dogs and real patriotic meat in general. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/9 "2024-06-12T13:39:24Z")
You know, I find eating contests grotesque, gross and immoral (wasting food in the face of too many people starving), but shilling for vegan alternatives at least is progress, if small. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/10 "2024-06-12T13:43:17Z")
Given who runs Nathan’s, I’m not surprised in the least. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/11 "2024-06-12T13:54:21Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > What I like is their genteel term for barfing - _“reversal”_. “Oops, looks like Fred suffered a _reversal_ there!” It’s not just a reversal. It’s a _reversal of fortune_. Which I think is even more hilarious than reversal 🤪. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/12 "2024-06-12T14:02:40Z")
I remember watching the contest in the covid year (2020) when the number of contestants was very small and the event was held at a secret indoor location. One woman only finished seven or eight hot dogs! A perfect example of a minor leaguer who clearly wasn’t ready for the spotlight of Major League Eating. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/13 "2024-06-12T15:34:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Joey Chestnut disgusts me. He was a hero to the carnivorous world and then suddenly he’s taking money from the fascist socialist phony meat movement. He has just spit chewed bits of hot dog into the faces of the right thinking American public who reveres genuine hot dogs and real patriotic meat in general. It makes me wonder if he was never a dedicated carnivore, and was undercover, only pretending to be a carnivore so he could spy on true competitive carnivores. In other words, maybe all along he was…a plant. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/14 "2024-06-12T16:53:25Z")
Based on that article, at least, this has nothing to do with the fact that it’s a plant-based company. The longstanding agreement was just “if you want to compete in the Nathan’s event you can’t do so as a paid representative of **any** other hot dog brand.” That’s not unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/15 "2024-06-12T17:41:32Z")
AND it elevates the level of attention Impossible gets from this many time over while still making Nathan’s look petty. No winning for them but the ad copy now writes itself (no AI need be used). ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/16 "2024-06-12T17:57:07Z")
I wonder how Joey would do trying to down Impossible Dogs during the contest. It would be **hilarious** if he was required to eat those dogs instead and corked the contest as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/17 "2024-06-12T18:32:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > That’s not unreasonable. I find this comment unintentionally hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/18 "2024-06-12T18:42:06Z")
There’s very little that irks me more than an avaricious Chestnut. A saying that seems apt here: “Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/19 "2024-06-12T18:45:22Z")
I would say that it’s less crazy for a sponsor to be concerned about an athlete (I mean, I think competitive eating is a weird kind of athletic activity) that endorses its competitor. Nintendo owned the Mariners for almost 25 years and if one of their stars began appearing in Sega commercials in the 90s it wouldn’t surprise anyone if that caused problems. It’s less ridiculous than some principled stand about meat products. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753/20 "2024-06-12T18:47:19Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I think this is really going to come back and bite them. Joey is hugely popular and a big reason why so many people eat this stuff up. [I smell a Streisand effect.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joey-chestnut-not-competing-at-2024-nathans-hot-dog-eating-contest/1002753.md?page=2)