All sports dynasties come to an end.
UCLA dominated college basketball during the John Wooden era, the Steel Curtain was untouchable for five years, and during the 1950s sports fans were hollering “Break up the Yankees”. In time, these dynasties came to an end.
Most recently, Joey Chestnut’s winning streak at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island came to a crashing halt when Matt Stonie downed him 62 to 60.
Chestnut had won the event for 8 consecutive years.
Was this upset an anomaly or is it the changing of the guard? Was Chestnut’s breakup from the woman he proposed to at last year’s event the source of his demise? Did the lack of competition keep him from coming out on top? Will Chestnut go into retirement, even though the third place finisher only downed 35 dogs and buns?
God only knows why ESPN broadcasts the competition, but they did. And some view it just the same as a major sporting event. The top two finishers had the following comments about the contest.
• “I trained hard for this. We don’t just go up there and eat hot dogs. We practice for this. We prepare our bodies.” – Stonie.
• “I’ve been looking for competition for a long time and I finally have it. He made me hungry.” – Chestnut.
On the women’s side, Miki Sudo downed 35 dogs and buns to defeat Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas for the second consecutive year. Thomas consumed 31 hot dogs.
Sudo credited her victory to her tactical decision to separate the dogs and the buns. For her, the buns went down easier after being dipped in Crystal Light.
According to Nathan’s website Stonie consumed 17,360 calories, 1,116 grams of fat, and 48,360 milligrams of sodium. This is based on the content of one hotdog. The website also includes the winners of the event for all 42 years.
Can you imagine that – 42 years of hot dog eating contests? And the winner receives $10,000 and a mustard colored belt.
