Hot Dog Season Opens

In the world of competitive eating, there is no bigger event than the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. Eaters must compete in qualifying rounds held around the world to win one of only twenty seats at the big table in Coney Island. From there, it's an all-out eating frenzy to swallow as many hot dogs and buns (HDB) in 12 minutes to take home the Coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt. This is the competition that even people who don't follow competitive eating know about, mostly due to the one hour coverage it gets on ESPN, and the legend that is Takeru Kobayashi, the then-slim-now-ripped Japanese man who floored the world in 2001 by eating 50 HDB and DOUBLING the previous world record of 25. His current (and the world) record, set in 2004, is 53.5. He's the only competitive eater to have won 5 years in a row, the no one has even come close to his worst showing in 2003, with 44.5 HDB.

This is a fine eater.

But there are nineteen other seats at the Nathan's table, to be filled with other amazing gurtitators. While even the top ranked American eater, "Sonya Thomas, doesn't hold out much hope of surpassing Kobayashi (Don't get me wrong ... it is my dream to take him down. However, I have to be real... If anyone even thinks of dethroning him, he or she is in for a harsh awakening...As such, my immediate goal is to get as close to him as possible."), everyone is hungry for the opportunity.

Mikey has mapped out all the upcoming qualifiers and other IFOCE events on this fabulous platial map and we'll be keeping track of the winners as we near July.

The first of the qualifiers was held on Saturday in Sunrise, Florida. Having met several of the people competing in this one, it was hard to pick a favorite to root for. I mean look how excited Erik is about making it. The more you get to know the eaters, the harder it becomes to have favorites. That said, I have to say in the end I was gunning for Crazy Legs, due to his charged confidence and the fact that he's running the Boston Freakin' Marathon today. Who does that? Anyway, my loyalties were rewarded with a win, though one apparently tinged with some controversy.

Crazy Legs and Jammin' Joe LaRue ended the competition tied at 21.5 HDB (Crazy Legs went into this with a personal goal of 22). They went into double overtime, and Crazy Legs was declared the winner. There was a low murmur of controversy in the IFOCE's reporting, which has since deleted numbers that appeared in an original post, and then Beautiful Brian's website posted what can only be referred to in this sport as "fightin' words." Aren't your sources always running marathons when you need the record set straight?

Update: More accounts of the Sunrise qualifier here and here.

Digest extends congratulations to Crazy Legs on becoming the first to qualify in this 2006 season! We're sure LeRue, and the other stars in Sunrise, will be back to battle soon.