I've never really been a huge fan of people stuffing their faces, especially with soggy hot dog buns, but on my day off last Wednesday I felt a duty as an American (read as: I was bored) to watch the international bout that may or may not be named "Pearl Harbor: The Revenge". They're still working on making that official, I guess.
Joey Chestnut has now made himself a household name, and he has brought pride back to gluttonous Americans everywhere by beating The Tsunami, Kobauashi. Kobauashi supposedly had his wisdom tooth removed and couldn't open his mouth more than the size of his finger, but as I watched him chow down and catch up to Chestnut in the final minutes, it was obvious that Kobauashi's only ailment was fear, and as we know from this dude, fear leads to suffering, which must be what he felt after that last dog spewed out of his mouth and he realized his imminent defeat. He was eating just fine, and showed no sign of pain, which makes me believe that once he found out Chestnut had demolished his previous record in a smaller event, he knew he finally had met his match.
Kevin at All on the Field, among others, say hot-dog eating is not a sport. I can't necessarily disagree with him, but as I watched these men gorge themselves, I have to say that I haven't felt that kind of intesity in an event in a long, long time. It was truly a gripping moment with all of Coney Island desperate to establish some kind of American mark on Independence Day, and it was definitely something I will watch again next year.
Whoever was cast the duty of announcing this event for ESPN said that this was "One of the greatest American sport moments" (or something to that effect). Is this correct? I'd say Rocky over Drago would be up there as well, but what else would qualify besides the obvious "Miracle" historical hockey game?
1 comment:
Those Rocky decisions were overturned after he was found to be using performance enhancing drugs. Didn't you hear? ;-)
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