Nathan's 2007 - A Blow by Blow Account

Nathan's 2007
Originally uploaded by david_lewicki.

Of course, the real point of going to Coney Island on the 4th was not the Cyclone or the boardwalk, not Astroland or the amusements. The real show today was an old-fashioned American spectacle. A public contest. A death-defying duel. A gastronomic showdown of gut-busting proportions: the annual Nathan's Hot Dog-Eating Contest.

I needed the sense of community, the public ritual. I wanted to be part of a shared spectacle. I wanted to be caught up a display of bravery and courage, a test of human will and chutzpah.

You probably know the story of the contest if you're reading this--6-time champ Takeru Kobayashi of Japan re-defined the sport of competitive eating when he first won the contest years ago. He doubled the then-record of 25, downing 50 dogs in the alotted 12 minutes. Legend has it that they had to write up new counting cards that day--they never imagined someone could eat more than 30.

Since then, many have tried, but few have even come close. Until this year. A month or so ago, Joey Chestnut, a young Californian, broke Kobayashi's world record by eating 59 dogs in 12 minutes in a qualifying competition. This year, in Brooklyn, it would be Kobayashi versus Chestnut. Ali-Frazier; Bird-Magic; Navratilova-Evert... choose your epic battle... this was it!

Twenty to thirty thousand people piled up in the street corner around the stage next to Nathan's. ESPN covers the event live, so cameras and media were everywhere. The crowd energy was great. I feared the pro-American Joey-jingoism, especially in a time of war when we're feeling beat-down as Americans. But this crowd was excited and pleasant. Plenty of Kobayashi supporters--he's drawn quite a following over the years. A few hand-made t-shirts and "rising sun" headbands showed that Takeru would be embraced here. But the crowd was clearly pro-American. The upstart underdog was the fan favorite... spontaneous cheers of "JO-EY, JO-EY!" rose up from the swelling mass of humanity.

Ted and I stood on our tiptoes to get a view of the stage. As the contest started, the contestants downed dogs with stunning alacrity. Behind each contestant was a "counter" that recorded each dog they ate. The numbers went flying by--every 5 seconds. It was unreal. By the mid-teens, Chestnut had pulled ahead by one dog. The crowd roared its approval.

By 3 1/2 minutes down, both Kobayashi and Chestnut had eaten something like 35 hot dogs. It was a sickening, but profound feat. Of course they couldn't keep up such a blazing pace... or could they? Chestnut had managed to pull out to a 3 1/2 dog lead. The contender was for real. While Kobayashi raced through the dogs, workmanlike, Chestnut bobbed and weaved, throwing them back with flair.

Then, you could see Chestnut begin to falter. We all wondered in the crowd, had he gone out too fast? Was he going to hurl? Was the pressure of the day too much? Had he tried too much, too soon, in going after the champ?

Slowly, as the minutes crept on, Kobayashi crept back. He pared Chestnut's lead to 2 1/2 dogs. Then 1 1/2. Then, as we crept toward the final minutes, Kobayashi had trimmed the lead to 1 dog! Both men raced toward the finish line, both smashing through the then-world record of 59 dogs. They kept eating, Chestnut holding a 1/2 dog lead. But could he hold on!?

As the final seconds ticked away, Chestnut's ticker clicked '63.' Then, as the clock sounded, Kobayashi's ticker clicked '63,' too!

What had happened? We were too far away to tell, but it looked like Kobayashi might have tied it at the end. But perhaps Chestnut nipped him by 1/4 or 1/2 a dog? The crowd waited in suspense while the judges announced that they would have to review the results. We stood in stunned silence.

Then, after several minutes of waiting, the judge stepped to the mic. "And the 2nd place finisher in the 2007 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is... Takeru Kobayashi!"

The crowd erupted: Chestnut had done it! He stood triumphant on the stage, draped in an American flag and holding the giant trophy. But then, something strange happened. The judges announced that Chestnut had actually eaten 66 dogs, not the 63 that the scorecard suggested. He had won easily!

Immediately, rumors spread that the whole thing had been a fix--that there had been some mischevious score-altering behind the scenes. But these rumors fell flat. The better eater had won. And it was hard not to love the new champ, in his buzz cut, all-American affect. He looked like the nice guy on the high school football team--the one that would talk to the band geeks and would hold doors for people.

And there has probably never been an athlete more gracious in defeat than Takeru Kobayashi. He embraced Chestnut. Called him a "true champ." And he thanked the crowd for cheering him through his injured jaw. And best of all, he promised to be back again next year to re-gain the mustard-yellow belt!

The crowds slowly dispersed. Ted and I hung around a while to see if either gladiator would puke. Chestnut doubled over a few times and grimaced as he smiled for the cameras. But it all stayed at home.