Competitive Eating: July 2006 Archives
My relationship to food is entirely based on the concept of volume. Growing up with two brothers meant that the concept of "seconds" was a territorial battle of the serving dish fought night after night. Each of our strategies was different. Gene would alternate between his brain and his brawn. Being a year older he could both physically intimidate us and gain the right to seconds, or he would talk his way into winning by somehow convincing our parents he was the rightful heir. Curt's concept of the game seemed to lack behind somewhat, he being the youngest. But I suspect his meek attitude was nothing but a ploy for sympathy, which meant my own attempts at seconds would be thwarted with the worst words to be spoken by my parents at the dinner table, "Save some for your brother." My method was what I called "first rights," based loosely on the concept of the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. By finishing my meal first I was able to jump in for seconds before anyone else had come close to finishing. Any suspicions I was getting more than my fair share were allayed upon seeing my empty plate. The unforeseen consequence of this method was something of an arms race with my brothers. We were inadvertently training for speed in order to win more volume.
Now I am 29 years old, and I no longer live with my brothers, nor do i ever need to eat any faster than anyone else. I rarely eat seconds anyway. The concepts of speed and volume in my eating are not just a leftover of my childhood, but actually a detriment to my enjoyment of food. I am still the first one done at any table I am eating at. The pattern of eating my meals quickly is so ingrained into me that it feels like some sort of primal survival urge. Eating to me is an activity best done quickly.
Which I feel explains my interest in competitive eating. The IFOCE not only validates my compulsion to eat fast, they show me that my eating is nothing in the grand scheme of people who live to eat. I am humbled.
The Rib Eating Competition was my first real-life experience at a live IFOCE event. I knew it was one of the smaller events, and I braced myself for a bit of a disappointment. I've read Horsemen of the Esophagus: Competitive Eating and the Big Fat American Dream and Eat This Book: A Year of Gorging and Glory on the Competitive Eating Circuit, watched Nathan's on ESPN, and seen the Tour De Gorge on HDNET. I knew my favorite gurgitator, Eater X, wasn't going to be there... and then I learned that neither of the Shea brothers would be there.
But now, after the event, I feel more enthusiastic than ever. Michael Castellano was fantastic, he rallied the crowd and kept interest high even during the long pauses. I got my picture taken with Joey Chestnut! And perhaps the greatest moment of the weekend was when I mentioned that we were friends of Liz and he mentioned excitedly, "You're from UrbanHonking?"
The first day was the amateur competition, where the locals battled it out to sit at the big boy table the next day. Only four would be moving forward from the six minute competition to the twelve minute real deal. The great part about catching the amateur event was that we got to see the format of how the Big Show would play out tomorrow.
In person, the excitement of an eating competition is opposite from what you'd expect. This is no doubt why the IFOCE employs people like Michael Castellano to be the MC at these events. The introductions were amazing, doubly so considering that Michael Castellano didn't know anything about these people until hours before the competition started. He talked them up, gave them great nicknames, and gave the whole introduction the feel of a professional and important event. At the same time, he wasn't too serious. He'd crack the occasional joke, usually at the eaters expense, making it feel like he was on our side.
The ribs themselves didn't look that great. Part of the reason being we were at a BBQ-competition event, where people from all over the region were fighting for the right to declare themselves the "Best BBQ." So while mere feet away from the competitors was award-winning BBQ, the ribs the eaters were attacking seemed to be much more 'cafeteria-style'. As the amateurs dug in for the six minute competition, there was little to do. It was difficult to determine who was in the lead as the only indication of progress was the number of plates. Each plate represented 2.5 pounds of ribs, but because ribs is a "debris sport" the weight of the bones and leftover meat was subtracted. It seemed that just about everyone made it to two plates, and no one made it to three. So other than the schedenfraude of watching the contestants smear BBQ across their face, the actual event was more of a waiting game.
In the end, the final contestants were all relatively close to each other. The winner, Ronto, finished 2.2 pounds of rib meat in six minutes. This didn't bode well for the amateurs tomorrow, as Joey Chestnut's 2005 record was 5.5 pounds in twelve minutes. Ronto and his friends would have to eat more meat at a faster pace for a longer period.
The main event happened on Sunday at 3:00 pm. It was a little cooler, with a strong wind blowing in off the ocean. Michael Castellano looked even sharper than yesterday, wearing a four button suit and a tie in addition to the signature hat. While he did repeat some of the facts, trivia, and stats from the previous day, the larger crowd and presence of the "professionals" seemed to up his already fantastic MCing to new heights. The crowd was eating up every feat of the stomach that he mentioned and it became quickly apparent that the locals were not going to really be a part of the days events.
Right away the professionals were clearing the chairs out of the way and pouring the water from small water bottles to larger mouthed cups, presumably for easier access. Erik The Red had his own gallon of what looked like lemonade, and also a smaller bottle of what looked like sparkling water. Perhaps to enhance his ability to catch a belch? (was this a performance enhancer?) The main action was centered on the table. Joey Chestnut held the position of the Christ figure in the center, to his left in the position of John was LeFevre, and on his right in the position of Thomas stood Erik the Red. Further down on each side were less notable figures such as the "Pork Slayer" and Jason the Herbivore, but the table was set to draw our attention to the savior of American Competitive Eating, Joey Chestnut.
The crowd helped count down to the start and right away you could see something was going on. The amateurs were eating a rib like you or me. Richard LeFevre was hunched over, shoveling the food in his mouth in the style that earned him the nickname, "Locust", making it hard to see his method, but it seemed to involve chewing the meat off the bone. Erik the Red, standing tall with his special drinks and also chewing the meat off the bone. But then Joey... he was doing something else. He was stripping all the meat off the bone and shoving it into his mouth. It was so clearly obvious from the audience that this was a MUCH faster method, and yet only one man had thought of it? This was a reinvention of eating ribs which enabled Joey to speed past all the competition. As we watched his plates his pile up the only question was how much meat he was leaving on the bones.
My theory was that it didn't matter. Each bite of meat from the bone made that rib more difficult to eat from. While you could easily get five or six bites from a rib, number seven might be just a nibble, and that is a wasted bite. Better to toss the bone in the bucket and move on to the larger easier bites of the next rib. Cleaning the meat from the bone was a waste of effort, but the idea of not wasting food is also ingrained in American eating culture.
At some point their was a reversal of fortune. Thankfully this happened on the far end of the table (I think he was sitting in the Last Supper place of Judas). Cabel bravely investigated, but was kind enough to not show me the pictures. It did seem to hamper Jason "The Erbivore's" abilities, as he was sitting next to Judas. It was mentioned that Puker McPukerson may have been a plant, but as he only seemed to affect Jason's performance, that seems unlikely. :)
It was becoming clear that Joey was leading. He had four plates stacked up, which represented 10 pounds minus debris. How much meat at he stripped off? Was he just taking the easy meat, playing a psychological game? Unlikely, as he really seemed to be playing against his own record from last year. We had to wait for the weighing and the official results.
After the introductions and twelve minutes of eating the weighing of the debris was painful. For reasons I don't understand they only announce the top three places (these being the places that win cash prizes). It seems like they could weigh the contestants is reverse order of their expected performance, announcing to the crowd the official number. We'd be cheering as the numbers rose to the final astounding number of Joey Chestnut.
The man ate 8.4 pounds of rib meat. That's about the average weight of a human's head. All weekend I had been speed-eating my meals in an attempt to gauge how I compared to the professionals on the IFOCE circuit, but he ate 8.4 pounds off the bone in 12 minutes. That seems like an impossible feat to me. Except it's not impossible, I watched it happen. I watched a man eat the weight of his own head in rib meat.
Note: More to come! Stay tuned for a link to Cabel's movie footage and Josh's pictures.
Joey Chestnut may have won ribs over the weekend, but he was ready to get to work on some burgers today. At a press conference held in Chattanooga, the rising star set a new world record in an eating sprint, putting down 28 Krystal burgers in just two minutes to beat the previous record by 7 burgers. Okay, yes the burgers are tiny, but we're still talking a lot of meat and bun!
The Krystal Square Off is another eating competition that ranks among Nathan's and Wing Bowl in its intensity. It's also one of the only other US competitions Kobayashi regularly competes in. Last year, there was some foreshadowing of the greatness to come when Joey actually led Koby by several hamburgers up until the last minutes. Now, with his narrow loss at Nathan's, Joey is pushing harder than ever to own this year's Krystal title.
His technique seems to be mostly "stuff as fast as you can," no meat and bun separation. Though there's the added challenge here of freeing the little guys from their packaging.
Of course, rules are rules, and he'll still have to qualify to make it to the final round. Unlike Nathan's, every eater who makes it through the qualifying round will walk away with some cash in hand. Granted, the $300 prize for 13th place is a far cry from the $10,000 prize for first place, but a little guaranteed money never deterred anyone.
Everything gets underway next month, gearing up for the finals on October 28th, which will be aired live on ESPN.
The dates and cities for the qualifying circuit and championship final are as follows:
Aug. 24-27 Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sept. 1- 4 Jacksonville, Fla.
Sept. 8-10 Nashville, Tenn.
Sept. 15-17 Knoxville, Tenn.
Sept. 21- 24 Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Memphis, Tenn.
Oct. 5-8 Perry, Ga.
Oct. 13-15 Jackson, Miss.
Oct. 28 Chattanooga, Tenn.
My first IFOCE event in the flesh, and it couldn't have been more epic! Just a quick update on the results, and we'll be posting a full report tomorrow:
3rd Place: Erik The Red of Seattle with 4.1 lbs. I like this guy, plus he's so close he might as well be a "hometown hero"!
2nd Place: Rich The Locust, who placed second with 5.05 lbs. We all caught the LeFevre!!
1st Place: No surprise it was Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, what was a surprise was the new world rib eating record of 8.4 pounds of rib meat.
And the Viewer's Choice award goes to IFOCE Announcer Mike Castellano. He did an amazing job and made the whole event even more spectacular and fun (and his suit looked great!).
This is it. The Super Bowl of competitive eating. The US Open, The Masters, the World Series...for a sport with no season, trying to find a suitable analogy for the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is a little rough going. Unlike other competitions throughout the year, this one offers no prize money-only a belt, a year's supply of hot dogs, and a title that earns the respect of eaters across all disciplines. Widely considered to be one of the most difficult competitions, and surely the one most steeped in tradition and fanfare, it's known for lighting an insatiable fire inside eaters as they chomp their way through grueling qualifiers to earn a place at the big table.
And this year, everyone agreed, was particularly demanding, with qualifying numbers through the roof for pros, and fresh-faced rookies coming in with 18+ HDBs. This year also offered up something not felt amongst the eaters and fans in the past five years: hope of an American regaining the title. Joey Chestnut, known as an incredible eater, but one ranked solidly behind Sonya Thomas, suddenly emerged with the ability to power down a mind-blowing 50 HDBs. Everyone freaked out. The fans buzzed excitedly, the Sheas had their angle for the entire competition, somewhere out in California, Jed Donahue wondered if this might be the year someone would get hurt, and the world rallied around the idea that there would finally be a worthy competitor for Takeru Kobayashi.
We were psyched. There are certain advantages to living in the same city as the IFOCE headquarters, and we were prepared to reap all the benefits our press access would allow.
The day before the competition is reserved for the weigh-in, a tradition that allows the press a first peek at the eaters. Everyone was crowded onto a hotel rooftop, with the midday sun beating down. The eaters were introduced, and a handful were weighed and "certified for competition." We were anxious, along with a roof-full of restless press, to finally lay eyes on the famed Kobayashi. When he finally came out, cameras went wild. He seemed, the way people do when you've only known them through photographs or television, different than we expected. The images most often associated with the famed Japanese eater are those of him with arms raised in victory, with muscles bared, with a wicked grin over a platter of hotdogs. The public no doubt views him through these lenses, and we're not sure the press knew what to do with the demure-looking man with the shock of yellow hair. What they eventually did was shape him into the ferocious competitor they came to photograph. "Show us your muscles!" "Flex!" "Lift your shirt! No, lift your shirt and LOOK UP!" "Look up!" "Give us a mean look!" He acquiesced, but not without a bit of...was that embarrassment?
We've learned there's a fine line some eaters walk, as they make a name for themselves and then have to deal with the attention that name garners. Many people find they fall short of the famed Cookie Jarvis ability to both actively self-promote and revel in the attention. Often there's a bit of a disconnect that we might identify as merely human. (Speaking of which, Cookie was on hand, too, gamely shoveling dogs in his mouth for the cameras. I asked one of the eaters, "Didn't he retire?" The answer: "He didn't retire from the cameras!")
Things got even stranger when George Shea lined up Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut to do a "face off" for us. He handed each of them a hot dog, had them face each other and race to stuff their face, coaching them from the side, "Glaring! Glaring!" Frankster, the Nathan's mascot, grinned goofily behind them, tongue wagging. The cameras snapped away before both of them fell away with hot dog stuffed smiles. They shook hands. George Shea asked if that was enough, if the press wanted anything else. They wanted it again. But closer this time! Nose to nose! Joey and Koby obliged, but the shot kept falling away to half-shy laughter from both sides. Shouts of "Closer!" kept coming from the press; so much so that we began to wonder if what they really wanted was to see the two stars kiss. Come to think of it, THAT would have been a shot worth waiting for.
We caught up with the eaters again later that evening, where a bunch of them gathered at Coney Island's KeySpan Stadium to cheer on the entrants in the final qualifier before the big day. There was a little picnic laid out for everyone and the eaters picked their pre-game dinners carefully (that is, those who weren't planning on winning the qualifier and ending their night with a bellyful of Nathan's). We could have sworn we saw Rich LeFevre go back and forth with at least three plates of three hamburgers each, but he later swore he only ate two sausages. Hmm.
We got the chance to talk to Robert Andersson, who came all the way from Sweden to compete in the 4th of July competition. A bright-eyed, friendly guy, there with his girlfriend, Anna (who did her part to uphold the beautiful blond Swedish stereotype), Robert was confident he'd put down at least 40 HDBs the next day. He explained that he was a champion eater of varm korv, a hot-dog-like "rubbery Swedish sausage." The Swedish version were very tough, but were without buns. He hadn't had the chance to try a real Nathan's until that day, and he was elated with what he found. The hot dogs, at least in comparison to varm korv, "melt in your mouth" and the buns were a very "simple bread."
We don't think we've ever heard any of the eaters use the words "melt in your mouth" to describe the Nathan's dogs, so we thought some of this optimism might be warranted. Was this like a swimmer who's only trained in heavy clothes being released into a race wearing a Speedo?
Not that there weren't a few points he wasn't clear on. As they set up the cups for the qualifier and eaters filled them up with various drinks, he got a worried look on his face. "Are we supposed to bring our own water?" he asked, to no one in particular. There were also some small customs of the eating circuit he seemed oblivious to. "After the competition, I'm going to throw up!" he told us with a huge smile. When we informed him of the taboo associated with giving up your lunch voluntarily after a competition, he seemed unfazed. "That's too much for your stomach! Oh yeah, I will throw up."
The final qualifier went by without a hitch. Erik "The Red" solidly beat who he thought was his biggest rival, "Jammin" Joe LaRue, 22 to Joe's 14.5. Eyes were also on fan favorites, Krazy Kevin and Don Lerman. No one seemed to realize a quiet rookie, Arturo Rios, at the end of the table had eaten 18. Even Arturo didn't realize he'd done well. We told him later that if he ate 18 HDBs at only his second try at competitive eating, he most likely had a bright future ahead of him in other foods. His face visibly brightened. "Really?" he said. Watch out, world.
Pat Bertoletti was intent on getting to ride the Cyclone. Erik also mentioned he'd be along for some rides, but we're not sure he successfully convinced anyone to sit next to him and his 22 hot dogs and buns.
The next day, we arrived at Coney Island bright and early at 9:30 am, two and a half hours before the show was scheduled to start, in order to get a good spot. Even at that hour there were a good hundred people or so filling the cordoned-off fan-designated area to the left of the stage, with more arriving each minute. The press box was filling up too, but we were not to be pushed out of a prime position by the likes of Reuters and the Associated Press! No, we were resolved to hold our ground and try not to feel out-gunned by large professional camera equipment and microphones to our 17-inch tripod and Panasonic PV-GS200 camcorder. And why do we do this? For you, the True Fans of competitive eating. We were representing the people; the closest we've come to eating lunch with Rupert Murdoch is reading the cover of the NewYork Post at the deli.
Celia (Krista's sister tricked into assisting us during this oppressively hot July 4th) and Krista worked the trenches as Liz and her husband, J, staked their claim on a spot on the raised press platform directly in front of the stage. We've been to some big eating events, but nothing of this scale. Crazy Legs warned us to plan ahead so we wouldn't be surprised by the crowded venue, ruthless press, and severe dehydration. But nothing could have prepared us for the spectacle we were about to witness. The fan presence was the first big difference. A lot of eating contests are held at odd hours or during the weekday, when many people don't have time to attend random sporting events. And even at bigger competitions (save, perhaps, only Wing Bowl), the crowd is drawn from the main event hosting the contest (a fair or festival). So observing throngs of people showing up hours beforehand, complete with crazy hats, signs, shirts, and cameras, just for hot dogs, was truly awe-inspiring.
Most of the eaters were taking the Bus of Champions into Coney, but Eric "Badlands" Booker was on hand to greet some fans. Cookie Jarvis and Don Lerman, who weren't competing but had places in the opening ceremonies, were also milling around. We first approached Badlands, who we never would have guessed had only got off working the 12 to 8 AM shift. You would think the darn MTA would be able to get someone to cover for everyone's favorite civil servant eater! But Badlands wasn't complaining; his eyes were bright, and he seemed upbeat and, of course, hungry and focused.
We weren't sure how the Nathan's contest would affect some of the eaters. We didn't want to get in the way of their preparation and we approached Badlands with caution. However, that was all thrown out of the window when he gave us a huge hug hello. (They like us! They really like us!) Badlands was signing autographs and laughing with fans: the mark of a true sportsman.
Cookie Jarvis was also there to greet fans, and took a moment to talk to us about the part he was to play in the festivities. Sadly, the IFOCE was officially announcing his retirement and there was to be a special rising of his beloved trench coat above the Nathan's table. He seemed upbeat about it all, though. It was his decision after all. His plan is to lose 200 pounds and get healthy. When asked how he planned to do it, he answered with a smile, "I'm going to eat a lot less and exercise more." Good answer Cookie; if only more people tried to lose weight the logical way.
The next eater we said hello to was the ever-sweet Don Lerman, who was wearing his special plaid fez/hot dog hat with an embroidered "Don Lerman" scrawled across it. He was keeping cool in the eater tent with bagpiper Larry Vinson, who looked every bit the part in kilt and white beard. The occasion for their formal attire was simple: they had been asked to present Jim Mullen's teeth to George Shea before the contest. A tradition at this competition, Jim Mullen is the apocryphal winner of the first Nathan's hot dog competition in 1914 (though he was supposedly Irish, which makes the presence of the bagpipes a little less clear. But who are we to argue traditions of heritage when we're talking about a fake dead guy's dentures?) Don Lerman told us he's just too heavy to be in tip-top eating form right now. His plan is to lose 80 pounds by January, and he knows exactly how he's going to do it: one meal a day, the luncheon special at his neighborhood Chinese restaurant. His menu favorite is the Kung Po Ding, one portion, excluding the egg roll and soup. If he follows this regimen, Lerman is confident he will be in eating shape for 2007.
After running out of eaters to interview, we turned our attention to the fans. Dave Shoffner of the great fan blog, MegaMunch, was in attendance, as well as super fan, Greg Packer, who has returned to the same prized corner spot to watch the contest for the past five years. Packer, looking relaxed and cool in only a pair of shorts and chest hair, said the Nathan's contest is an American tradition and he wouldn't dream of missing it.
As Celia and Krista were taking it all in, an event coordinator asked if we would help her out for a moment. As we are generally helpful people, we agreed. And then got really excited as we realized we were being asked to be stand-ins for the ESPN run-through of the event. Whoa! We waited in the wings as George Shea practiced his spiel for the cameras; as he announced our "names," we strode up the steps and across the stage, Celia doing her best Eater X, and Krista working it out as Crazy Legs Conti. There was considerably less face paint and shaking of dreadlocks than the real thing, but this may be the closest we'll ever get to getting cheered on a competitive eating stage. We soaked it in.
A few other fans caught our attention because they were sporting hot dog hats similar to Don Lerman's and seemed to be bubbling over in anticipation of watching the contest. The women, Nicki, Lisa, and their friend Yvonne, came all the way from California to see the Nathan's contest for themselves. They said they planned their entire trip around attending the competition and bought their hot dog hats online, weeks in advance, just to make sure they had them for the big day. We aren't sure if they obtained their goal of meeting each of the eaters individually, but they did manage to get their faces on the closing ESPN coverage.
Sadly, even the fans who made it to the corner of Surf and Stillwell early in the morning were not able to get a good view of the contest. The prime viewing space, directly in front of the stage, was reserved for press. The fans had to make due with craning their necks to see just a piece of the entire table. It seems too bad that no one's figured out a way to ensure both adequate press coverage and satiate fans' desires to be closer to the action.
As 10:30 approached we saw several large groups approaching the VIP area. One of the groups were decked in "I [Heart] My Deep Dish" shirts, while another were wearing "My Brother Can Eat More Than Your Brother" tee shirts. This could only mean one thing--the eaters' families had arrived! Up until then we had only met a handful of eaters' family members, but we've learned they are usually a big treat. The always delightful Rona Conti was there sporting her "Crazy Legs' Mother" hat, Tim "Eater X" Janus was represented by a big crowd comprised of mother, father and assorted friends and family. The threesome wearing the bold, "My Brother Can Eat More Than Your Brother" shirts, seemed a bit overconfident until you saw the "Chestnut" written on the back. There is no denying it: their brother CAN eat more than your brother (unless, of course, your brother is a Japanese phenom named Takeru). Hall Hunt's family got into the act by wearing matching day-glo orange shirts. "Big" Brian Subich had some signs too. It seemed everyone had at least one person there to root them along. Not that they would need anymore cheering as the crowd surged to 15,000 strong, with signs of their own: slightly dirty ones ("Swallow, Sonya!"), hopeful ones ("I'm eating next year!"), punny ones ("I've got the LeFevre!" "I'm crazy for Crazy Legs!"), and specific ones (Kobayashi's head on a stick. In a good way.)
Adding to the cacophony of the day's events were the Blues Devils, an old-fashioned blues foursome that rocked the stage with their version of edgy rhythm and blues, rockabilly, and swing. They were great, but as we watched them from the floor we just couldn't help thinking how hot their suit jackets, hats, and terry cloth pants must have made them. Our mothering instinct kicked in and we just wanted them to get off the stage, drink some water, put some shorts on, and sit in the shade and relax.
As Celia made one of her many water/Gatorade/hot dog runs for the team, the crowd let out a cheer. We were wondering what we missed when we turned to the stage and noticed a man bearing one plate of hot dogs; the FIRST plate of hot dogs. It was enough for the crowd to scream to the heavens. It meant things were gearing up. It meant the eaters were close.
After the Blue Devils sang their last song, Amos, the Bard of Brooklyn got on stage to sing a few songs about hot dogs. The chorus for one of them went something like:
Hot dogs, hot dogs, hot dogs - watch them, eat 'em up
Hot dogs, hot dogs, hot dogs - great with soda pop
After the Bard was finished Anne Marie Thomas got onstage to prettily sing the national anthem. We figured if this was anything like baseball, the show was finally getting on the road. (The music was fun, but it made yelling liveblog updates to Mike very difficult.) A representative from Nathan's gave City Harvest a donation of ten thousand hot dogs, which we are assuming was meant to assuage guilty gluttony feelings. We think it did the job. We looked hard for any trace of irony on the City Harvest rep's face, but there was nary a sideways glance. Ten thousand hot dogs is ten thousand hot dogs, I guess! The Gowanus Wildcats, a dance troupe made up of young girls, performed a dance on stage for the crowd.
The Frankster was also there adding to the general feeling of glee, as well as an Uncle Sam on stilts and a rival stilt-walking clown with a basketball and net. A miniature Uncle Sam was also in attendance. There were no photo-ops between little person Uncle Sam and stilt-walking Uncle Sam, but we think that would have been excellent.
The Frankster was trying his best to dance, but as George Shea pointed out, "The Frankster has no hips, which makes it very difficult." As noon approached the crowd was becoming more and more boisterous, and when the 60th Precinct escorted the Bus of Champions into the lot they could barely contain their excitement. Eaters later reminisced about past Buses of Champions that were full of last-minute camaraderie, nervous excitement, Beastie Boys songs ("No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn") blaring from the speakers and eating highlight reels played over television sets. It's a rite of passage for all who make it to Coney to get to ride in it, and we were eager to get a peek. Though, to be honest, the white minibus was looking a little more "Shuttle to the Retirement Home" than "Bus of Champions." We were able to get a quick peak into tinted windows as it arrived and we must say the eaters were looking hot and tired. A few little birdies told us the Bus of Champions was lacking air conditioning, smelled, and might have gotten lost a few times; not really the way these eaters deserved to be escorted to the event. However, they aren't ones to complain and nothing could stand in their way of being extremely happy to be there on the biggest day of the eaters' year.
Before the eaters could exit the bus, a man in a black suit and earpiece left the bus and reenacted a moment from a secret service agent's book of tricks. Looking both ways and speaking into a wrist mic as if there was a sharp shooter on the roof who had it out for the eaters. Leave it to the Shea brothers to find a way to add more theatrics to the day.
Badlands came out and rappped, only this time he brought out two younger versions of himself to help him out. Badlands was also supposed to sing with his wife's gospel choir, but that was nixed at the last minute due to time restrictions. Flipping through the press pack, we had been giddy with excitement for the promised lineup: a dance troupe called Clogtastica and starring the IFOCE's own Kate Westfall! A DANCE OFF with Pat Philbin! It was like WE had written the program for US! But as the main events started gearing up, it was clear a glitch of time mismanagement was going to rob us of these, along with the presentation of Jim Mullen's teeth. It's a shame; a lot of these cancelled events would have been fun to witness. We did hear rumblings that ESPN might have messed up a few things (the eaters had to enter the stage for the first time twice) but we weren't able to account for all the lost dancing and singing and teeth.
They did make time for the announcement of Rookie of the Year which, to no one's surprise, was awarded to Joey Chestnut. Hall Hunt (in an Uncle Sam getup) and Chip Simpson were also up for the honor, but Joey pretty much secured his place when he proved he was a 50-dog man.
With about 45 minutes until noon, it was finally time to announce the eaters. The platform George Shea was on suddenly rumbled and flew into the air, with George on board, hands raised and voice booming. All that was missing in the equation was Shea bellowing, "I am the great and powerful Oz!" The music started, the same pounding beat that usually begins these proceedings, but magnified over the expanse of Coney Island, it gained a new tenor of exhilaration. George used every ounce of showmanship he had in him; we've heard the same recitation of stats and legends at every competition, but somehow they didn't feel as familiar; he was clearly feeding off the energy of the crowd and giving them the show they were drooling for.
Erik "The Red" Denmark was the first eater to the stage, fresh from his win the previous night. The proximity of his qualifier to the main event was also was the reason why he had a handwritten nameplate at his table spot. A misspelled nameplate apparently, as the first thing Erik did was change the C to a K, in his first name. A lot of the eaters came to the stage with a little wave and a smile, but others chose to use this time to enter as only a true performer can, with personality and plenty of charisma. Allen "The Shredder" Goldstein, who entered to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" did wonderful pump action arm movement right on beat with the music that we particularly enjoyed. Kenji Oguni, the Japanese qualifier winner, shocked us. Not from his entrance, but because he chose to wear a black leather jacket for the occasion. We were almost blinded by the heat, drowning in humidity, and there was Kenji in this jacket; it made us even hotter just looking at him, but he was looking pretty cool.
"Humble" Bob Shoudt, who is from Royersford, PA (interesting side note: this is the same town Krista attended 6th through 9th grades. She would use this space to say, Go Spring-ford Rams right now, but she didn't really like it there, so she will refrain.) seemed mostly concerned with staying cool, as he sported a Sharper Image Personal Cooling System neck cozy and wore a wet white towel over his head during the contest. Crazy Legs Conti, always a crowd pleaser, didn't disappoint with a red and yellow dyed goatee and his signature over-the-top stretching maneuvers. Tim "Eater X" Janus, stood his own in the personality department by coming to the stage holding bicycle handle bars and ringing a little bell as he pretended to steer an invisible bike. Something tells us this has something to do with his whole Invisible Man thing. On his, (or is it the Whaler's?) second entrance, he used a posterboard sign to promote his blog.
Chip "The Phenom" Simpson gave us a King Kong beating of his chest, and Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti threw out some quick hand motions that the crowd took for revelry, but which made Commissioner Charles Hardy shake his head and laugh on stage. A little inside joke can go a long way.
And the grandest entrance of all was reserved for Joey and Kobayashi who appeared on blue platforms. As George announced the accomplishments of both, their platforms rose higher and higher until they sat about fifty feet in the air, waving their arms for the crowd.
As we mentioned, it was discovered ESPN had not taped the first round of introductions, which meant they actually had to do the whole thing over again, at a quicker pace. The eaters had to file offstage only to be re-announced, only with a little less aplomb this time, including Joey and Koby simply walking on stage.
Once the eaters made their final entrance they finally got down to business. Brian Subich and Seaver Miller were outfitted with ESPN eater-cams, drinks were organized on the table, and the Bunnettes grabbed their number signs. It was then announced that the 60th Precinct was estimating the crowd size at a whopping 22,500. We weren't sure if this was the truth, or just another Shea exaggeration, but it did seem impressive. Up in the press stands there was a murmur amongst the radio reporters as to whether this was a number they could accurately report. They hemmed and hawed before going on air with "a record number of people." The Nathan's Contest Countdown Clock approached zero and George Shea instructed the crowd to countdown from 10...9...8...and it began!
Now, if you are still reading this, you probably already know the outcome, though it doesn't mean it was less of a battle. Joey and Koby were neck and neck, Joey leading by one or two dogs up until the last minute and a half. Pat Bertoletti and Eater X made tremendous numbers (34.25 and 34, respectively) and Sonya finished a respectable third place with 37 HDBs. It was great to watch. The suspense in the air was palpable right up until the last few seconds. Considering that no one has been able to touch Koby in years this was an amazing contest, even if the outcome was the same.
There was a bit of a commotion over what people were calling a small reversal. At about a minute left to go, Koby's cheeks filled up in the wrong direction and a piece of hot dog flew into his cup. It happened in a split second, and the next instant he had swallowed what was in his mouth, what was in the cup, and had moved on. It didn't happen too quick for Joey's eyes though, and he did a double take as he caught the action out of the corner of his eye, pointing frantically in Koby's direction. Pat Bertoletti also saw something happen and pointed, but no penalty was issued. Kobayashi went on to beat his own world record by eating 53.75 HDBs, with Joey close behind with a new US record of 52.
"Reversal" dispute happens at the 7 second mark on this video.
George Shea came up to present the awards, though both Joey and Kobayashi looked wrecked. In years past, a smiling, triumphant look is what the press has come to expect from the Japanese winner, but we watched as he struggled to keep his composure. He leaned over the table and gave a "#1" sign with his finger that was so feeble, we initially mistook it for a "gimme a minute here" sign. The live feed waits for no man, though, and George eventually grabbed the champion's arm and raised it triumphantly for him.
As the contest ended and the press all surrounded Koby and Joey on stage to get interviews, we noticed the police officers who had been on-hand to keep the peace immediately started chowing down on the leftover hot dogs on the table. Are New York's finest being paid with hot dogs these days? They seemed pleased with their bounty, in any case. It seems every contest ends with the eating of the leftovers - grilled cheese, crab cakes, ice cream, and now hot dogs (not so much meatballs or corned beef and cabbage). This is one of the perks of working these events: all the food you can eat once the cameras are turned off.
So everyone put in very solid numbers this year. Well, almost everyone. If you look at the final numbers and scroll all the way to the bottom you will see that Jed Donahue only ate one. That is 1 hot dog, 1 bun. We have to admit, amongst all the flurry of eating, we didn't notice this during the contest. Shea never mentioned it, as his dialogue was centered entirely on Koby and Joey, and we didn't hear anyone talking about it after the competition either. In fact, the only thing that brought it to our attention is the fact that Jed strolled up to the subway platform later eating a large turkey leg. We were flabbergasted. It was only about an hour later and here he was gnawing away, in a very dedicated fashion, on a roasted leg. It was then that Crazy Legs, who was also with us, told us Jed had only eaten one hot dog. We quickly grabbed Jed to get the lowdown.
He calmly told us how he didn't know going into the competition that he was only going to eat one hot dog, but something came over him when he took the stage. He looked out into the crowd and decided he was going to try something new. He'd never eaten a Nathan's hot dog that hadn't been soaked in water. He'd never truly enjoyed the very hot dog that this entire competition was in honor of. On stage the clock started and he evenly grabbed the spicy brown mustard that adorned the tables, and drew a streak down his dog. When he bit into the first one, it tasted so good he decided then and there that THIS was the perfect dog and he didn't want to ruin the experience by eating any more. He told us it takes a lot of focus to eat just one hot dog in 12 minutes, and described the whole thing as a "truly satisfying experience." Whether you chose to believe this or not is your prerogative. Jed seemed pretty pleased with his decision.
However, other competitors weren't so happy. Rich LeFevre made it no secret that he believed Jed's move was the wrong one. Shaking his head, he said that if his wife, Carlene (now retired), had been there, she would have taken advantage of the opportunity to eat as many dogs as she could, and that Jed wouldn't even be there if she had come to the San Francisco qualifier, an opinion that Jed graciously allowed. The thought that Jed took the place of another eater who really wanted to be at the table but didn't make it, seemed to bother Rich. "Those people would have given it their all," and he thought Jed owed it to those people to eat as many hot dogs as possible.
But Jed was feeling pretty philosophical about the whole competition. Later that night, with things swinging into after-party mode, he talked a little about his fear of the direction the sport of competitive eating is taking. "It used to be that natural talent was all you needed to excel," with the sport made up of people with big appetites and bigger stomachs. Now, with this new breed of eater, ones that do stomach-stretching exercises with water and set up training sessions for themselves, the bar has truly been raised. Now anyone can train and become a decent competitive eater, and those with natural talent can train to be superstars. He said he was only going to go out and do the best he could do in competitions and leave the training to those with more drive than he has to really become great. Rich, too, agreed with this sentiment, and kept saying, "I'm 62. I have to leave that for the younger guys." It wasn't clear whether they were longing for the days when competitive eating was a simpler, less adorned sport, whether there was a hint of envy of the accomplishments of the "young guns" coming up through the ranks, or whether this was just a comment on the passing and changing of trends.
Jed does worry about people getting hurt. It seems to us like perhaps competitive eating is becoming a sport faster than there can be adequate coaches or safe training knowledge, like there are in other sports. We should keep in mind that the marathon today is so-called because Phidippides ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory. And then he died on the spot. Obviously, people run marathons today without dying on the spot, but a world of knowledge came about to help that happen.
The dusk grew longer and eaters began trailing in to get ready for the fireworks display over the city. Kobayashi sat on some steps with his girlfriend, Kumi, and were elated by fireflies that began to light up around their feet. Kumi chased the glow with her camera, hoping to capture the little lights. Tim showed up sans mask, with Erik, Hall, and Pat Bertoletti not far behind. Erik, one of the young eaters Jed and Rich referenced, seemed pleased with their comparison of him to where Tim was two years ago. Seaver Miller, there with his wife, couldn't be more pleased with the day's events. The mood was generally euphoric as the night slipped on and fireworks hissed and popped over the skyline. We remembered the giant countdown sign we passed on our way out of Coney Island, already reset and making its slow crawl towards next year. 364 days to go.
Takeru Kobayashi 53.75
Joey Chestnut 52
Sonya Thomas 37
Patrick Bertoletti 34.25
Tim Janus 34
Chip Simpson 33
Bob Shoudt 30
Rich LeFevre 28
Badlands Booker 24
Patrick Philbin 23
Eric Denmark 22
Seaver Miller 22
Brian Subich 22
Crazy Legs Conti 21.33
Allen Goldstein 20.5
Robert Andersson 20
Hall Hunt 18
Kamil Hamersky 18
Kenji Oguni 16
Jed Donahue 1
as per reported by the IFOCE
Ladies and gentlemen, today is the day. The day when all the training and the hard work and the long lonely nights payoff. Today is the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, a day to remember.
Liz and Krista, who you know from their extensive coverage of eating competitions up to this point, are on the scene at Coney Island giving me live updates on what is happening. We'll be liveblogging for the next two hours.
7:30 - Cookie Jarvis, the number 8th ranked eater in the world, has announced his retirement! For competitive eating, this is like when Michael Jordan left the NBA the first time. Jarvis holds more titles than anyone in the world, a list too long to reprint here now. He has been a rock on which the current face of competitive eating was built, and his retirement is an earthquake shifting the tectonic plates of competitive consumption, which we can't help but think will open a huge gaping opportunity for the next generation of gurgitators.
Last night at the official weigh-in Jarvis was eating dogs for the cameras and playing with the media, causing Crazylegs Conti to remark that Cookie Jarvis has not certainly not retired from the media.
Hungry Charles Hardy and Eric Booker have already arrived and are enjoying the amazing spectacle this morning, which includes a nine foot tall Uncle Sam on stilts walking around with a contrasting midget Uncle Sam. Truly a heartwarming symbol of the variety of peoples that make up our great nation. And what better place to be celebrating on this most patriotic of days that the shores of Coney Island, which for today at least, is the center of the world.
7:57 - The man in the Nathan's Hot Dog has shown up! Always a dramatic moment and reminder to the already record breaking crowd of what they are about to witness today (in a word, HISTORY!). Krista tells me that it's a hot out there, though thankfully overcast. Official weather is 85 degrees, but the humidity and the massive and thick crowds already forming is making it feel much water.
There will be a ceremony for Jarvis, celebrating his career and featuring his long beautiful coat. A coat so wonderful, it's amazing he hasn't been thrown in a well. When announcing his retirement, Jarvis said he needs to lose 200 pounds and Krista asked about his plan to do it. His reply was the simple and stoic, "I'm going to eat a lot less."
8:08 - Liz has her spot on the stage and reports that the already massive crowd has tripled and is easily in the couple of thousands range. It's difficult to even guess how many as it's just people as far as the eye can see. A massive sea of humanity where occasionally you can spot a supporter, like Joey Chestnut's brother in his "My Brother Can Eat More Than Your Brother" t-shirt.
Liz also reports that the stage has been literally built form the ground up to highlight the battle between reigning World Eating Champion Takeru Kobayahi and Joey Chestnut. At the beginning of the competition they will be lifted a hundred feet in the air on separate lifts coming directly out of the stage.
8:18 The band has stopped playing and the Bus of Champions has arrived! THE EATERS ARE HERE!
You may remember from Liz and Krista's coverage that Joey Chestnut qualified with an amazing fifty (50) Hot Dog and Buns (HDBs), which is just shy of Kobayashi's world record 53 1/2 HDBs. The world record WILL be broken this year, and the Coveted Mustard Yellow Belt could finally come home to America!
8:35 - Krista reports that there is ANOTHER bus coming. The first bus arrived and now George Shea (a personal hero of mine) is on the stage. He is saying that today is the day. The day that the he beleives that the Covted Mustard Belt will be won by an American and end the reign of Kobayashi's Hot Dog Tyranny. He has mentioned three names as the possible Saviors of American Eating: Joey Chestnut of course, Sonya Thomas, and Chip Sampson.
8:44 - The eaters get a THUNDEROUS round of applause as they walk from the bus to their dressing rooms beneath the stage. Liz is telling me the names of the eaters she can see, but all I can hear is the amplified and still sooth sounds of George Shea and the manic screaming thunder of the thousands and thousands of fans.
8:49 - Badlands Booker has taken the stage and is now rocking the mic with two kids.
8:50 - George and Shea rapped "Shea A Little Prayer For You" together! OH NO! Booker fell!!! But he is okay. He Is up. Everything is fine.
8:54 - The official retirement ceremony of Cookie Jarvis is happening. It is a sad to see him leave, but with his retirement they also announce the Rookie of Year award to Joey Chestnut. This moment is like the rebirth of the bright phoenix, a moment that heralds the next generation of professional eaters. Think of it as Eaters 2.0.
9:03 - Steve Schroeder reporting from in front of my television where the live TV coverage on ESPN has begun with Paul Page and Rich Shea bringing you all the action. Rich Shea predicts that the world record will fall either to Kobayashi or Joey Chestnut. George Shea reports from the stage that there are 16,000 people on hand.
9:05 - Paul Page says that they do this entire event with their tongue firmly planted in cheek, which I do not appreciate at all. The IFOCE is have a banner year, and is gaining respect by the second. I don't see any advantage to ESPN cutting down the competitive eating at all.
9:09 - Eaters get off the bus! Crazy Legs with crazy hair. Eater X emerges with a Hartford Whalers sign! The ESPN correspondent pulls Joey Chestnut aside and asks him when the last time he ate was. He hasn't eating a full meal in a couple days. They go to a pre produced piece on Joey and his history with IFOCE.
9:12 - Interview with Sonya. She likes the heat. Wants to focus on swallowing very quickly. Can she break her own record and get near Kobayashi and Chestnut??
9:15 - KmikeyM says Watching live on ESPN! The announced that Kobayahi has never lost to a human (only a bear). Will we see a 10 dog minute?
9:18 - Short introduction package on hot rookie eaters Chip Simpson and Pat Bertoletti leads into a live interview with Bertoletti who says he does this for the "fun, camaraderie with other eaters, and to push himself."
9:20 - Three different eating techniques profiled: Solomon Method (break each hot dog in half, eat both halves at once, then the bun), Tokyo Style (eat the hot dogs & buns separately), and Dunking (dip the hot dogs and buns in liquid). New 5 second dunking rule has been introduced to minimize flotsam in the liquid.
9:29 - George Shea now introduces the eaters!
Rookie out of the wing circuit Erik The Red.
Wild Card winner Hall Hunt.
From The Czech Republic Kamil "The Hague" Hamersky. Robert Andersson from Scandanavia got skipped by Shea...whoops.
Kenji Oguni aka DARK WATER looks very tough in a leather jacket.
The Jalapeno Pepper champ, Jed Donahue.
Brian "Yellow Cake" Subich, father of 3, a football coach.
Patrick "Moonachie" Philbin is being goofy as I have ever seen a human. He sorta looks like Chunk from the Goonies. In a good way.
Seaver "The Achiever" Miller is one of the new good looking eaters from the crab cake circuit.
"The Shredder" Allen Goldstein looks seriously pumped. Look out he has the strongest jaw in the sport.
Here comes everyone's favorite Crazy Legs Conti, red goatee and all. "He has leveraged the sport to find worldwide celebrity" says Rich Shea of Conti.
Here comes the 2004 Rookie of the Year, Urbanhonking's favorite, EATER X!!!!!!!!!!
Here comes the man who shows that age isn't a factor in competitive eating..."THE LOCUST" Rich Lefevre.
Next up, the only vegetarian on the circuit "Humble" Bob Shoudt (he strays for competition).
Here comes the man who is most likely the best rapper on the circuit Eric "BADLANDS" Booker.
The Rookie with the mohawk, a culinary student PATRICK BERTOLETTI.
Here comes the Gloria Steinem of the gullot "THE BLACK WIDOW" Sonya Thomas.
Another awesome rookie...CHIP SIMPSON.
Here comes the man who is America's hope today "JAWS" JOEY CHESTNUT!
And then there was one. Never beaten on US soil. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. 5 TIME CHAMPION. TAKERU KOBAYASHI!
9:36 - Kobayashi has mustard colored hair.
9:41 - The competition begins!!! Who will it be? Kobayashi? Chestnut? Sonya? A more unknown like Chip Simpson???
9:43 - Joey Chestnut has a brother overseas in the military who he would like to bring the title home for. 2 minutes in and Chetnut and Kobayashi both have 14 dogs eaten. Simpson has 11 and so does Bertoletti.
9:45 - 4 minutes in and Chestnut is on record pace!! He has 27 down. Kobayashi has 26. Simpson, Bertoletti, and Thomas round out the top five. The pace will obviously slow down a bit as the competition continues but the pace is incredible. The average amount of dogs eaten to qualify this year was 29, up from 24 last year. This is truly a watershed year for the sport.
9:47 - Halfway done! Chestnut 37, Kobayashi 35, Simpson 25, Bertoletti 24, Thomas 24.
9:48 - Chip Simpson is sitting down and listening to music. Chestnut looked like he was rearranging hot dogs in his stomach with his hand.
9:50 - 3 minutes left and Kobayashi has regained the league from Chestnut. Kobayashi is looking much more comfortable than Joey "Jaws" right now. Can I just say that I'm not a big fan of the "helmet cam". I don't think it adds a lot of insight and it looks a little goofy.
9:52 - 1 minutes left. Kobayashi 50, Chestnut 48, Thomas 35, Janus 32, Bertoletti 32. VERY EXCITING!!! Eater X is coming on!
9:54 - Kobayashi wins his 6th in a row!!!!! What a close competition. It went down to the wire. It looks like right now that Kobayashi got 54 hot dogs and bun down. A NEW RECORD! Chestnut ate 52! Kobayashi almost looks like he is crying as he is handed the mustard belt by George Shea.
9:57 - The numbers have been refined slightly. Kobyashi got down 53 3/4 hot dogs and buns. Still a new record. Interview with Joey Chestnut. He says he is really tired and hit a wall around the 9 minute mark. He says he will be back.
9:59 - Kobayashi is interviewed. He says he felt the pressure from Chestnut heavily and that is motivated him. Sonya finished 3rd with 37 hot dogs and buns. I am looking for the final tallies from all the eaters. I am assuming Eater X finished 4th. What a great comeback from him. What a great competition. That's it from me and the TV. I hope we get some more reports from Liz and Krista soon.
10:25 - Looks like the Gothamist was livebloggin' it was well.