The Hot Dog world is once again turning as it should: Joey Chestnut is back at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest today for America’s annual July 4 Championship and another shot at breaking his own record of 76 Dogs and Buns in under 10 minutes…
Champ Joey Chestnut awarded the Nathan’s Mustard-yellow
title belt in 2021 after consuming the standing record
of 76 Dogs and Buns in under 10 minutes…
It’s the culmination of a year of training, competing and spiritual preparation for world Hot Dog Eating champ Joey Chestnut as noon draws nigh on July 4…
Bated breath…
The competitive eating world holds its breath as the hands of the clock prepare to converge at noon, at Nathan Handwerker’s famous Original Coney Island Hot Dog stand for the annual July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest…
And this year, world-renowned competitive eater Joey Chestnut will be back on stage defending his own record. The 16-time winner of the premiere event missed out on the Nathan’s contest last year after the League that regulates professional eating banned him over an alleged contract infraction.
Less than spectacular…
Nathan’s and the League said Joey had broken his exclusive contract to play Coney Island under the Nathan’s banner by partnering with plant-based meat substitute maker Impossible Foods for another contest earlier in the year.
The result was a less than spectacular July 4 Hot Dog Day Romp, with Joey competing in a third-class chomp-fest at n little-known US Airforce base in Texas. And a load of J0ey wanna-eaters going head-to-Dog for the Nathan’s mustard-yellow title belt.
Nobody happy
Well… It appears none of those affected by last year’s debacle were happy with the outcome…
For better or worse, it seems Joey and Nathan’s have come to terms over his participation in the Big Event in NYC. And he’s back where most fans say be belongs.
“I respect that there were differences in interpretation [of the contract], but I’m grateful we’ve been able to find common ground,” Joey told reporters. “I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands!” he continued.
Back to ‘normal’
This year, the Nathan’s event will see Joey lock horns (and maybe jaws) with last year’s winner, vir-tually unheralded Patrick Bertoletti, who breezed to victory downing 58 Dogs and Buns. But disap-pointed fans noted that was nowhere near Joey’s self-made record set in 2021: 76 ‘complete’ Dogs.
However… MDs, physiologists and other experts say even Joey may have to hang up hopes of racking up continually-increasing records every year. They are now in general agreement that there’s an ab-solute physical wall – somewhere just north of 76 – no human will be able to get past in the quest to eat more and more Hot Dogs every year.
At that point, the vector of competition may have to be changed from, ‘who can eat the most dogs in 10 minutes’ to, ‘who can eat a nominal (say, 75) mini-mum number of Dogs in the least time’.
My take
But that’s for future League officials and competitors to figure out.
This year – for me, at least – it’s more than enough to see Joey Chestnut back at the Nathan’s Contest, shoving Hot Dogs down his well-practiced gullet, smiling contentedly, while hordes of admirers gawk on…
~ Maggie J.