QUEENS, New York — When it comes to competitive eating, timing is everything.
"A rookie eater often suffers from hubris, thinking anyone can do this and often comes out of the gate too fast," said Rich Shea, the co-founder of Major League Eating, the "sport's" sanctioning body. "A more successful eater knows how to pace themselves. There's a skill involved with manipulating the food."
"Manipulating food" is another way of saying "stuffing your face with enough grub to choke a horse," which is, essentially, what competitive eating is all about. The finest, um, athletes, in the game gather Wednesday at Coney Island for Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, or as Shea calls it, "the Super Bowl of competitive eating."
I was in the Big Apple a few weeks ago and caught one of the dozen qualifying rounds for the annual contest, which dates to 1916. I may never eat another hot dog again. Four hundred frankfurters and buns were prepared for the event outside Citi Field. "We make sure to have plenty," said one of the cats in charge of dogs. That's nothing. For the big contest on Wednesday, organizers will lay out 2,000 dogs and buns.
Fifteen men and women were lined up at the buffet table, which organizers had thoughtfully laid out with new bottles of deli style mustard and cups of water. Many competitors dunk their dogs to soak the buns. That makes them easier to swallow. Yeah, a soggy dog looks as gross as it sounds.
Honestly, I'm not sure of the proper etiquette for photographing a hot dog eating contest. Should I have arrived with an empty stomach so I don't risk vomiting? Or should I have arrived with a full stomach so it's not so easily upset? I can't lie. Before the first heat, I was craving a Chicago-style dog. But seeing competitors devour dogs quickly killed my appetite.
The contest lasts 10 minutes, which is about 9 minutes too long for those who can't stomach slamming their face with franks. Fans walking to the Mets game stopped in their tracks, as if hypnotized. At first I thought everyone kept back to avoid the splatter of flying crumbs and bits of frankfurter. But as I got closer to the action, I realized they kept back to avoid the smell. Frankly, franks reek.
Shea, who was running the show, didn't seem to notice. But then, he's been at it for awhile. Back in 1998, he and his brother George co-founded Major League Eating, aka the International Federation of Competitive Eating. The league hosts about 80 events annually, including the big July 4 shindig at Coney Island.
Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is an institution. More than two dozen competitors will line up behind a 30-foot table and dive in at noon. Last year they chowed down in front of 40,000 people as another two million watched it all on TV. Yes, TV. ESPN3 will run it live, and ESPN will rebroadcast it at 3 p.m. EST in case you miss the action.
Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, the league's top-ranked eater, is going for his sixth straight title. He holds the world record with 68 devoured dogs. It's one of 20 — 20 — records he holds. Others include pork ribs (9.8 pounds of meat in 12 minutes), steak (4.5 pounds, with sides, in in just under 9 minutes) and matzoh balls (78, in 8 minutes). He's the overwhelming favorite, with one offshore betting website putting Chestnut at -800, meaning you have to bet $800 to win $100 on him winning.
"The last few years I've been kind of lazy," Chestnut told amNewYork. "There were a few years here where nobody was close to me, but it's about time I make a new record."
Women get in on the action too. The defending champ is Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, who consumed 40 HDBs (hot dogs and buns) in 10 minutes last year. She weighs all of 100 pounds. If she wants to win, she'll have to get past Maria "Edible," who made it to the big event after wolfing down 20 dogs at Citi Field.
Maria, a lean, mean eating machine who is 27, sports a colorful tattoo sleeve of, yes, food. Cupcakes, ice cream and hamburgers line her arm. Surprisingly, there are no hot dogs. Not yet, anyway. She arrived wearing sunglasses and headphones, blasting Ramstein to psyche herself up and minimize distractions while chowing down.
"I try to create my own little bubble," she said. When I asked her real name, she said, "I try to shed my real identity for this."
This marks her first full year as an eating professional. Last year, she went unopposed in the female division qualifier in New York, advancing to the July 4 final after eating 13 hot dogs. She stuffed down 15 in the championships last year. She's out for a personal best of 20 dogs this time. Ironically, while training for competitive eating, Maria tries to maintain a healthy diet and works out on the StairMaster. As she took the stage, Shea introduced her as "Lady Gaga without a gag reflex." Maria smiled and suggested I step back.
"It's not always pretty," she warned me. "There will be a lot of soggy buns that might be flying at you."
