My uncle once accused me of having a hollow leg. I was about 8-years-old and had just put away a good portion of the Thanksgiving meal my mother and aunt had put on the table. I just smiled and asked if I could have some more yams.
My 7-year-old grandson enjoys Jimboy’s Tacos Super Burritos. I took him out to lunch last year at our local Jimboy’s. After ordering a Super Burrito for him, the woman working the counter looked at me with one of those “I’m a mother and grandmother and know a whole lot more about kids than you do” looks, and informed me a boy his age couldn’t eat a Super Burrito. I handed her the money and replied, “Watch.” The boy finished it off and had a few bites of my taco. Then we walked out the door past the silent woman with an indistinct look. It may have been wonder, awe or disgust.
How many hot dogs can you eat in ten minutes? Today, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut won the men’s division of the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at the original Nathan’s Famous site on Coney Island, New York. He gobbled up 62 of the symbols of Americana, beating his record of 54 set last year, but falling short of his lifetime best of 68. This year, Sonya Thomas, the “Black Widow,” a 105-pound lean, mean, eating machine, put away 40 Nathan’s hot dogs without regurgitating. That is actually one shy of her all-time best of 41 eaten in 2009, but it was still 18 1/2 more than the second place woman stuffed down her esophagus.
This may sound like a lot of irrelevant information about a silly contest to you. But Joey and Sonya each received a check for $10,000 for ten minutes of public gluttony. There were referees in black and white striped shirts, a hot dog mascot and a play-by-play commentator who, referring to Sonya in her last few seconds of competition, actually screamed, “She climbs the [unintelligible] highway of history to this, her greatest day. She climbs the ramparts of victory!” Oh, and Joey gets a huge professional boxing style belt called Nathan’ Mustard Belt. Sonya gets to accessorize as well. Hers is a beautiful Pepto-Bismol pink belt. If you still doubt this contest’s credibility as a major event, consider this: ESPN broadcast it live! This must be a real “sport,” right? What’s next, couch sitting?
There is a fair amount of intrigue involved in professional hot dog eating as well. At the exact time the Nathan’s contest was taking place on Coney Island, a competing hot dog eating contest was being held on a rooftop penthouse in New York City. The major competitor at that site was Takeru “the Tsunami” Kobayashi, the champion from 2001 through 2007. He may have eaten 69 hot dogs, compared to Chestnut’s 62, but there seems to be some skepticism about that tally. The Japanese citizen was ineligible to compete in the Nathan’s contest because several years ago he refused to sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating. Yes, there is Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer (“Football” for my European readers), and Major League Eating. Consequently, Kobayashi has essentially been locked out of league competition. He did not help his position by rushing the stage at last year’s competition and fighting with police, who locked him up for the night. He is reported to have given up a six-figure income with the MLE in exchange for about $20,000 in contest winnings last year. But don’t count him out yet. He still has the taco eating contest in Los Angeles in August.
I should remind everyone that today is the 4th of July, Independence Day.This is the day 56 men signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. By doing so, they risked everything they possessed and every loved one they held dear. They pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to the cause. One of the best summaries of the true cost to these men I have ever heard can be found at this site: http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/Our_Culture/our_lives_fortunes_honor.htm. It was a speech given by Rush Limbaugh, Jr. (the radio personality's father). Don't let that scare you away. Read it. It is a part of history most of us are not exposed to. And why would we be, when the biggest event of the day is not a patriotic event, but a hot dog pig-out?
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