The silly season is upon us. Breaking news today is that a chap named Takeru Kobayashi [What part of Eire is he from? ed.] was arrested at Coney Island when he disrupted the annual July 4th hotdog eating contest.
In spite of the altercation, "competitive eater" Joey Chestnust retained his Major League Eating (MLE) championship. He wolfed down 54 "Nathan's Famous" dogs in ten minutes. Now I'm afraid to turn on the TV news for fear of having to see the video. Worse yet, someone is bound to post the aftermath on YouTube. Yes, there is a dark side to coming in first at a hotdog- or pie-eating contest. Winning has its price.
For me, the real fascination in this story lies in discovering that there really are organizations called Major League Eating and the International Federation of Competitive Eating. MLE is the franchise that oversees all professional competitive eating events [sic] and competitive eating television specials. Not making this up!
"The mission of Major League Eating," according to Wikipedia, "is to maintain a safe environment for all events, while also seeking to create a dynamic and enjoyable fan experience." You can see its competitions -- should you have the stomach for such things -- on Spike TV. Another good reason not to spend money on the premium cable package!
Competitive eating... Who knew?! Now competitive drinking ... that's another matter!
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