Competitive Eating contests... This just seems *wrong*...
Category Everything Else
Every year on the 4th of July, Nathan's Hot Dogs holds a competitive hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in New York. It's been going on for nearly 90 years. The goal is to see how many hot dogs you can eat in 12 minutes. A new record was set today by a Japanese guy (small little dude) who has held the title for the last four years. He downed 53 dogs in that 12 minute period. 53! ESPN covered it live and was hyping it like a major sporting championship. I hope much of it was tongue-in-cheek, as there was far too much enthusiasm being displayed for people stuffing their faces.
I suppose this is similar to the country fair pie eating contents of Americana lore. But at least that was a one time shot. These hot dog eaters compete and "train" year around. There's a competitive eating sporting association that sponsors these things. And it's not just hot dogs. There are hard-boiled eggs, peppers, burritos, and just about anything else you can imagine.
This just seems wrong on a number of levels. For one, "training" your body to consume 17,000 calories in a 12 minute period? And for another... with hunger being a problem in many parts of the world, how do you justify "competitive eating"? Activities like "extreme ironing" are funny, but competitive eating seems to be morally suspect.
Every year on the 4th of July, Nathan's Hot Dogs holds a competitive hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in New York. It's been going on for nearly 90 years. The goal is to see how many hot dogs you can eat in 12 minutes. A new record was set today by a Japanese guy (small little dude) who has held the title for the last four years. He downed 53 dogs in that 12 minute period. 53! ESPN covered it live and was hyping it like a major sporting championship. I hope much of it was tongue-in-cheek, as there was far too much enthusiasm being displayed for people stuffing their faces.
I suppose this is similar to the country fair pie eating contents of Americana lore. But at least that was a one time shot. These hot dog eaters compete and "train" year around. There's a competitive eating sporting association that sponsors these things. And it's not just hot dogs. There are hard-boiled eggs, peppers, burritos, and just about anything else you can imagine.
This just seems wrong on a number of levels. For one, "training" your body to consume 17,000 calories in a 12 minute period? And for another... with hunger being a problem in many parts of the world, how do you justify "competitive eating"? Activities like "extreme ironing" are funny, but competitive eating seems to be morally suspect.
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Posted by Duffbert At 16:23:28 On 24/02/2005 | - Website - |
Posted by Switchblade At 13:28:39 On 24/02/2005 | - Website - |