Great Eating on the 4th

No better way to celebrate the independence of America than doing something that we are really, really good at - The Nathans Hot Dog Eating Competition!

Today is an epic matchup - Kobayashi vs. Chestnut - for the rights to the Mustard Belt. Already there is controversy over the shortening of the contest from 12 minutes to 10 minutes. Will that make a difference to these athletes?

Kobayashi was the 6-time champion until he was upset last year by local boy, Chestnut, so this year is a GRUDGE MATCH

The competitive eaters from all over are assembled - some great costuming this year! - and the fun facts about all of the competitors are priceless. In order to ascend the heights of the Nathans contest, you have to prove your intestinal mettle as a champion in some other eating pantheon - today there were brisket eaters, cheese fry specialists, sushi specialists, and hard-boiled egg eaters.

I'm thinking that maybe I could start training for such a thing, dad... maybe starting with some tasty beef heart perhaps?

I'm studying the great Kobayashi's technique as I chew myself...

Ready for the next one dad... keep 'em coming!

Maybe some decorative face paint will improve my chances like this guy?

I noticed that all the competitors have a technique of eating and drinking at the same time, so I head over to my Drinkwell so that I can eat more...

In the end it was HISTORIC - never in the Nathans history has there been a TIE!!! 59 dogs in 10 minutes! So they had to have a DOG OFF (don't worry doggies, it's not what you're thinking...) where they had to go head-to-head and whoever ate 5 dogs the fastest would win. IT WAS NAIL BITING...

In the end Chestnut was victorious, so the Mustard Belt stays in the USA! I'm kind of sad for Kobayashi, he's a great competitor with amazing technique (cannonballing those dogs by folding them in half, genius!) as he's had some injuries (jaw-thritis), but I'm happy to hear that he will stay in competitive eating and be back next year!!!

Love,

Bogart