Geez everything is screwed up these days. We can't even get a hot do eating contest right!
Loge13 loves competitive eating as much as the next sports fan. And July 4th is all about the legendary Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest.
But now comes word that Takeru Kobayashi - a.k.a. the Michael Jordon of hot dogs -
may not even compete this year!Dammit people, lets fix this! America needs Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut at the same table this Independence Day. It'd be like the 4th without fireworks. Or the Gulf of Mexico without oil.
TOKYO -- Former world hot-dog eating sensation Takeru Kobayashi of
Japan wants to compete in this weekend's annual Fourth of July contest
on Coney Island, but still can't agree to a contract with the
organizers.
Kobayashi, one of the world's premier competitive
eaters, won the contest for six years up to 2007 and then had to settle
for second-place finishes behind American Joey Chestnut. He moved to New
York in March so he could train with local hot dogs.
But his
chances of getting revenge this weekend against Chestnut, from San Jose,
Calif., seem slim because of a contract dispute with the event's
organizer. Kobayashi, 32, has balked at signing an exclusivity clause
with the group, and can't compete unless he does.
"I really want
to compete in the event," Kobayashi told Japan's Kyodo news agency.
In
a report from New York on Friday, Kyodo quoted Kobayashi as saying the
event "holds a special place in my heart," but added he did not agree
with the conditions.
Kobayashi became a celebrity and a hero in
Japan by eating his way to victory from 2001 to 2006, a feat that
remains unmatched. But Chestnut has won the title for the last three
years, setting a world record by scarfing down 68 hot dogs and buns in
10 minutes last year. Two years ago, Chestnut beat Kobayashi in a
five-dog eat off, after they tied at 59 franks each.
Chestnut says
he still sees Kobayashi as a rival -- and a bitter one. They don't talk
to each other, and did not shake hands after last year's eat off.
Kobayashi lost to Chestnut last year by only 3 1/2 hot dogs.
In
May last year, Kobayashi beat Chestnut in a pizza eating contest,
consuming 5 3/4 pizzas in six minutes. Each pizza weighed one pound
(0.45 kilogram). Chestnut could only manage 5 1/2 in that time.
If
Kobayashi is out of the game, Chestnut's toughest opponent may be Bob
Shoudt, the world's No. 2 eater, and Patrick Bertoletti, ranked No. 4 in
the world.
The 95th annual hot-dog eating contest will take place
in Coney Island, Brooklyn on Sunday. U.S. TV viewers can catch the
spectacle on ESPN.
The contest has been held every Independence
Day since 1916.
