The Final Post

Is Baseball still America's National Pasttime? Maybe, but if Competitive Eating keeps on its blistering pace then we may soon be cheering for San Jose's own Joey Chestnut instead of San Francisco's own Barry Bonds, and Japan's finest Takeru Kobayashi instead of Japan's finest Daisuke Matsuzaka. It is time people recognize the sport because many Americans, Europeans, and Asians already have. This is why:
-America loves food, they love to eat food, they love to watch food(i.e. Food Network) so therefore many people imitate the sport. If you type in "Eating Contest" on YouTube you get 2,780 results. While this number is nowhere near an international sport like football (the soccer kind, which receives 237,000 results) it has been on a furious increase since the late 1990's.
-America loves weird stunts and records. On YouTube "World Record" returns 43,200 videos. This means America loves risk, and competitive eating has among other things; health issues, choking and suppressed hormones. People have even died on Japanese Competitive Eating Gameshows. While these may be sad statistics, it is further proof that Eating will catch on.
-Competitive Eating has become more televised. ESPN now carries many events and eating competitions have been featured on over 15 shows in the past 2 years. If Competitive Eating starts gameshows again it is likely it will get higher ratings then some sports like hockey.
-America Loves Nicknames. Just as we once loved Lester "The Molester" Hayes, Broadway Joe Namath, Walter "Sweetness" Peyton, Rod "He Hate Me" Smart, and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, we now support Crazy Legs Conti, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, Erik The Red Denmark, and Takeru "Tsunami' Kobayashi. How could you not love these guys?
-Every Day is an all-star game. Unlike team sports that only have one all-star game, or sports like boxing that now has over 5 leagues with numerous "world champs" each competition is home to the greatest competitive eaters the world has to offer. If you win, then you truly are the best.
-When the action ends, there is still more action. The weak stomachs should look away, but many Americans are now seeing that even when a great contest comes to an end, we are sure to see the food again within the minute, in a rather unpleasant way.

Book Source: Just How Popular is Competitive Eating

The Guinnes Book of World Records 2007 has 4 pages devoted to Food and Drink. The records range from largest bucket of popcorn (which happens to have a volume of 1,695 cubic feet) to the most tabasco sauce drunk in 30 seconds (120 ml) to most expensive cocktail ($1,431). The world has an obsession with food, and this can be displayed in many ways. The Guinness Book of World Records is just one way, so is there anyone in America who doesn't think Competitive Eating will succeed (no matter how disgusting or wasteful they believe it is.)

America Loves Competitive Eating Because...America Loves Food

AMERICA LOVES FOOD. This is true to the fact that American Obesity Rates grew 74% from 1991-2001. Coincidentally (or not) Competitive Eating Gameshows started in the 1990's, but they were eventually cancelled for safety reasons. When Americans get bored they eat, when they are hungry they eat, so why then would they not turn to food as a sport, if it was available.

Anywhere an average American looks he has some access to the world of food. Whether it be a cookbook, a restaurant, a TV show (futher proof: we have a Food Network), or grocery store. Competitive Eating may be one of the most accessible sports in the world, and this is why it is becoming so popular.

What are the health issues involved with competitive eating and what is an eaters body like?

According to William Chey of the University of Michigan, an average stomach will feel full after 6 hot dogs, which equals somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 liters of meat and bread. Over 50+ hot dogs (the record now stands at 53.5) equals almost 3 GALLONS of food, about 10.5 more liters than the stomach feels it can take. Another concern is the amount of calories taken in during the short (12 minutes) period of time. The damage that can be done ranges from rupturing the stomach, to irritating the esophagus, and even creating acid reflux, which sends stomach acid up the throat.
Other health related problems at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which will once again be aired on ESPN, are overcoming the gag reflex and choking. It is interesting, however, that in a country where obesity ravages, it is not a problem in the gorging sport of competitive eating. In fact, the eaters are getting smaller, and according to Joey Chestnut, this is because he has never watched his weight more closely. Chestnut, who won second place in last years contest by consuming 50 dogs, even dwarfs the 5'5" 100 pound Sonya Thomas, as he stands 6'1" 200 pounds.
Because all eaters dread the "Wall," or point at which their body feels it will reject food, they have many ways of training and expanding their stomachs. Competitive eater Don Lerman claims to chug gallons of liquid daily before contests, while others choose to guzzle foods like cabbage. In between contests, Lerman does frequent exercising and dieting to keep his weight down, because he said if he didn't he'd be "as big as a house."
Many eaters have a theory called "the belt of fat." The theory states that weight on the abdomen will help the stomach getting bigger, and they suppose that thinner eaters have more room for expansion. Even fit eaters like marathon running "Crazy Legs" Conti claim that they can't expand like the petite Thomas.
A 2006 article from Science Daily suggests that eaters can eat so much by suppressing the hormones that tell the brain when their stomach is full. Many doctors believe this fact, but they wish eaters would concentrate more on the gastric diseases, which can occur when you succeed your bodies limit.

Sources:
usatoday.com
washingtonpost.com
sciencedaily.com

FOREIGN POLICY: So, just how international is the sport of competitive eating?
George Shea: The Nathan’s hot dog-eating contest and the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) are kind of like a new United Nations, bringing nations together in peace. Eating knows no political or geographic boundaries. Today, the IFOCE holds events in England and Japan, and we’ve sanctioned events in Germany and Thailand. We’re doing one in Hong Kong in August, a bun-eating contest of some kind.
At this year’s Nathan’s contest, there are 20 competitors. We’ve got a Czech eater, a Swede, and two Japanese. In the past, we’ve had eaters from Germany, England, Scotland, Australia, and Thailand. And I think that slowly, over time, it could become much more international. But the vast majority of the competitors are American.

FP: Why have certain countries embraced it more than others?

GS: The nations who have embraced it the most are, in order of magnitude, the United States, Japan, and England. [Competitive eating] plays on sports obsessions—the pageantry and the hosting and the play-by-play commentary. Some see it as absurd and comedic and entertaining. In Japan, they play it straight. Actually, they don’t even play it; it is straight. Their contests are longer and more grueling. It’s a function of their reality TV culture.

FP: Is there a big rivalry between the United States and Japan?

GS: Japan has a long tradition of eating contests. By that, I mean a couple of decades. In the early 1980s, Japan sent a couple of eaters to Coney Island and they won a few contests. So the [championship prize] Mustard Yellow Belt was in Japan and was actually lost over there for several years because the defending champion didn’t come back. Finally, in a special one-on-one competition in 1993, American Mike DeVito beat Japan’s Orio Ito, winning the belt back for the United States. Then Hirofumi Nakajima won it back for Japan in 1997. American Steve Keiner won once in 1999. And then there was Kobayashi.

FP: People say Kobayashi is the best competitive eater of all time. Is he really that dominant?

GS: You have to understand that until Kobayashi came along, the winners ate between 20 and 25 hot dogs in the 12-minute competition. Everything changed when he came over in 2001. He ate 50 hot dogs that year. Here was this sweet, 22-year-old kid who had the body of an acrobat. It blew my mind. He was playing at an entirely different level. Everyone was shocked.

FP: Does size matter?

GS: Kobayashi is 5’6”, and has now become a 170-pound bodybuilder. I mean, he’s a professional eater, but in his spare time he likes to work out. It’s a hobby for him. He’s now muscular, totally chiseled, like a mini-Schwarzenegger. When he first started, he was around 120 pounds—very slender, fit, and lean. If you tighten up your abs as much as he has and build a wall of super-developed muscle, presumably that could prevent the expansion of his stomach. But really, it has nothing to do with size.
Competitive eaters like “Cookie” Jarvis and “Badlands” Booker are 6’5” and weigh over 400 pounds, and they can’t hang with Kobayashi. And then there’s Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas, who’s ranked No. 2 in the world behind Kobayashi. She’s 5’7” and weighs 100 pounds. Her personal record is 38 hot dogs in 12 minutes. When she beat those other guys, it was a counterintuitive shock and delightful for everyone involved. They’re so big, they have their own ecosystems, and she could fit into a jar.

FP: Is there any way that Kobayashi could lose his title? Are there any new kids on the block?

GS: Kobayashi has won five straight times now. [His world record is 53 hot dogs in 12 minutes during the 2004 competition.] There’s a little bit of Kobayashi fatigue. Where’s America? Our eaters are eating 32 hot dogs, 38 hot dogs. We’re nowhere near 50.
This year, however, there’s this kid, Joey Chestnut. He’s a 22-year-old engineering student at San Jose State University. Interestingly, he’s the same age that Kobayashi was when he first won. Earlier this year, Joey Chestnut ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. And it has been reported that in training, he’s eaten 50 in 9 minutes. He’s 6’1” and 210 pounds. He’s not bulky, though. At a competition last fall, Joey almost beat Kobayashi. In fact, he was ahead for the first 7 minutes of an 8-minute competition. I was losing it! I was out of my mind! I mean, no one beats Kobayashi. But then Joey made a rookie’s error. He forgot to dunk a bun, and it just stopped him. The bun was so dry, he couldn’t eat it. It was so tragic. And so Kobayashi won. But this year it’s actually possible that Kobayashi could lose. It’s also possible that he will kick ass and do 60. But if I had to bet, I think Joey could win.

FP: So, how many hot dogs can you eat in 12 minutes?
GS: Only six.

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.

Why Is Competitive Eating a Sport?

From Dictionary.com
Sport-noun
an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Competitive eating is a sport because it has:

1. nicknames (Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi, Eric "Badlands" Booker, Crazy Legs Conti, Erik The Red Denmark etc.)
2. events and world championships
3. world record holders
4. an International Federation and governing body
5. a large field of athletes
6. training
7. tryouts
8. qualifiers
9. participants from numerous countries
10. fans/spectators
11. a final score that isn't decided by a judge
12. rules
13. risk
14. underdogs and favorites
15. TV deals and sponsors
16. competition
17. the winners rely on skill and tactics, as seen when a 105 pound female beats a 300 pound male
18. endurance
    

I-Search Question

-What factors have made competitive eating one of the fastest rising sports in America, both in pop culture and the athletic world?

The New Big Thing Among Celebrities: Competitive Eating!!

A Line fans of competitive eating: Jennifer Anniston, Vince Vaughn, Tom Brady, and Richard Seymour

On a recent dinner outing at the Capital Grille in Boston, Tom Brady and Richard Seymour of the New England Patriots were overheard discussing various competitive eating stories including Takeru Kobayashi's recent lobster roll eating extravaganza and Sonya Thomas records. Are Brady and Seymour common visitors to ifoce.com and CEN? I can't tell for sure but one thing is for certain, competitive eating is on the rise.

re: The Rise of Competitive Eating in Pop Culture

The list of shows/ movies (see below) that have featured competitive eating may be startling to some, but to others who have followed and understand the SPORT, it is very gratifying to see these athletes finally get attention that isn't in the form of mockery. In order to be a professional eater, you have to be very fit and healthy (in fact Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, holds 23 records, and she carries only 105 pounds.) Also, Competitive Eating is not without its danger and risk. In the 1990's there were competitive eating game shows in Japan that were pulled because there were too many choking deaths.

Factors that have made Competitive Eating one of the fastest rising sports in America:

• Everyone loves and underdog(try a 105 pound woman outeating men 300 lbs. +)
• Like in the rise of extreme sports competitive eating is very dangerous and doesn't have many rules
• The eaters are extremely fit and many are just as healthy as other athletes
• For years now there has been an obvious partnership of eating and sports and people are now realizing that the two together are just as good

The Rise of Competitive Eating in Pop Culture

1. A competitive eating event was the opening vignette of the episode of The Simpsons entitled Maximum Homerdrive, in which Homer Simpson's opponent, a truck driver, died after consuming the last bite of a monstrous steak, leaving Homer the responsibility of completing the man's cross-country delivery assignment.
   
2. An IFOCE King of the Hill episode, "The Fat and the Furious," had Bill Dauterive and eventually Dale Gribble participate in eating competitions.
   An eating competition at a county fair was featured prominently in the film Beethoven's 2nd.
   
3. The music video of Far East Movement's Round Round features a headband wearing male and several scantily clad women engaging in a hot dog eating competition.
   
4. A competitive pie-eating contest featured in the Stephen King novella The Body, later filmed as Stand by Me.
   
5. The movie Meatballs features a hot dog-eating competition.
   
6. A segment of the Hungarian/French/Austrian movie Taxidermia is set in the Communist period of Hungary and features several professional competitive eaters in a rather surreal way. (The movie is based on three short stories written by Hungarian author Lajos Parti Nagy).[2]
   
7. In an episode of Hey Arnold!, Arnold and other characters participate in a competitive eating contest.
   
8. In an episode of Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Yumi competes against a golden-toothed boy in a hot dog-eating conest.
   
9. In an episode of Without a trace, the FBI missing persons unit investigates the disappearance of a competitive eater.
   
10. In Malcolm in the Middle, the father is in a competitive eating contest at a town fair in the park.
    
11. MTV recently aired "I'm a competitive eater" as part of their "True Life" series
    
12. In an episode of SNL, a TV Funhouse animated clip parodied Takeru Kobayashi and Dragonball Z, making him out to be a superhero who saves the day by powering up and eating walls made of hot dogs.
    
13. In an episode of Samurai Champloo; Mugen, Jin, and Fuu all participate in a competitive eating contest to win money. Fuu was about to win; however, she accidentally forfeited while killing a fly.

Hi Tony!

I'm looking forward to reading your blog as you research and take notes!!!!Mrs. J.