ARCHIVE

From the Sidelines: Hot dog! Strange sport provides laughs

Sports reporter

Sometimes you have to see it to believe it.

I'd heard of the hot dog eating championships before, even of four-time defending champ, 5-7, 132-pound, Takeru Kobayashi.

Until I actually witnessed it on ESPN2 the other night, I never fully realized how stupid the whole event is.

Just imagine 15 people standing in a row stuffing hot dogs (and the buns) doused in water, in their mouths as fast as they can.

If that isn't weird enough, they have announcers.

Where do they find guys who actually know what they are talking about?

Here is some of their brilliant commentary:

"He's the Lance Armstrong of our sport." — On Kobayashi of Japan as he pounded down 49 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

"This kid's got a future." — On "rookie" Joey Chesnut who snarfed down 27 hot dogs to take third place.

"This man sweats gravy." — On Long Island's 6-4, 400-lb. eater Eric "Badlands" Booker.

"He's gonna leave a real man." — On Chesnut again who surprised everyone with his third-place finish.

Seriously, how do they keep a straight face when doing this? The announcers talk about training for the event, rookies being intimidated, and strategies on how to win.

Those strategies must not work too well, because July 4 Kobayashi wrapped up his fifth straight victory.

But hey, who am I to make fun of this "sport?" Thousands of people showed up for the event on Coney Island as one of the announcers explained it was "something we've been waiting a whole year for."

Normal people wait a whole year for the World Series or their birthday, not hot dog eating contests.

If this happened at South Padre Island during March, I may have a better understanding of why there was a large crowd.

As dumb as the event is, it actually doesn't bother me. In fact my wife Jamie and I got a good laugh out of it.

The world never ceases to amaze. When you think you have seen it all, something like the world hot dog eating championships shows up on your television.

Thoughts like, how did any of these "athletes" get started in this "sport", or how the heck do they even do it, start to cross your mind.

Laughter is a great medicine, and ESPN2 at midnight provided some for me last week.

I can't wait to find out what's on tonight.

Quantcast