Why Competitive Eating is a Sport 2

An excerpt from the artice by Jacob Kamaras, Assistant Sports Editor to the "Justice" school newspaper of Brandeis University, entitled "Commentary: The Sport of Eating?"


"I was full, exhausted, and nauseated. Before wolfing down 10 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes Wednesday at Sherman Dining Hall's hot dog-eating contest, I had never pushed my body to the limit like I did that day. That includes every time I have played basketball, tennis, football, you name it. Following this traumatic experience, I finally felt prepared to settle an age-old debate: Is competitive eating a sport? After fully digesting the situation, I say it is.As the reigning watermelon and matzo-ball eating champion of Brandeis, it is hard for me to answer objectively. However, I will begin with a neutral source: the American Heritage Dictionary. There, the noun "sport" connotes: an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.We must first examine whether competitive eating involves physical exertion. Critics insist that eating is not a sport due to a lack of movement."
"But a stronger challenge against eating as a sport is the fact that it is not often engaged in competitively. Rather, it is an everyday activity that is accelerated during competition.To that challenge, I say this: Driving is done daily, but auto racing is widely considered a sport. Running is also routinely performed. Is anyone going to tell me that track isn't a sport? Of course it is, since the running of track professionals is so much faster than the norm that those who participate are considered athletes. The same goes for competitive eating. Yes, eating is an ordinary activity, but professionals do it so well that it must be a sport. Consider Takeru Kobayashi of Japan, who on July 4, broke his own record by downing 53 and 3/4 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Are you prepared to say that this is not an athletic feat?"

Kamaras challenges all critics of the sport that even though Competitive eating looks stationary, but there is a lot of work involved including regulating breathing, and moving to get the food down. He brings up a strong challenging argument that it uses as much energy as golf, which is just as much a sport as hockey and tennis.