Forget the NBA free agency, the Wimbledon, or that Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor bout because the 2017 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is the only sports-related spectacle you should be training your eyes on, as a group of human being are about to test anew the limits of their stomachs’ elasticity this Tuesday in Coney Island.
There are a few things more American than eating a hotdog. Some people, however, take it to a higher level. Enter Joey Chestnut, who is the Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Babe Ruth rolled into one figure of hotdog-eating contests. The man has made a life (and fortune) out of yamming an extraordinary amount of frankfurters down his throat.
Chestnut truly is on a plane of his own, having won nine of the last 10 editions of the Nathan Hotdog Eating Contest. The latest betting odds even have him at -400 to win it again this year, while the rest of the field come in as +300 underdogs.
Chestnut’s eight-year reign was interrupted by Matt Stonie in 2015, but returned to the apex of this gastronomic exercise when he gorged on 70 hotdogs and buns in 10 minutes the following year, easily topping Stone’s 53 consumed hotdogs and buns. Will Chestnut, nicknamed “Jaws” be able to get his 10th Mustard Belt this coming Tuesday?
Challengers
Stonie showed in 2015 that Chestnut isn’t that omnipotent, that the current defending champion’s digestive system was also capable of running a hotdog or two short of victory. The 25-year-old competitive eater is trying his luck again this year, as he looks to bring down Chestnut for the second time.
Stonie, however, isn’t the only glutton poised to give Chestnut a run for his own money. Carmen Cincotti, who is ranked behind Chestnut and Stonie in Major League Eating’s ranking, is also a big threat to Chestnut’s throne based on how he performed in the New York qualifiers, where he shoved 53 hotdogs inside his 150-pound frame in just seven minutes.
Writer’s Prediction
Carmen Cincotti (+300 ) steals the thunder from Chestnut and Stonie and becomes the newest hotdog-chomping champ.
