The Official Competitive Eating Thread

[HardwoodLegend]

I am now a fan. Yes, it is a sport, and yes its participants are athletes.

Joey Chestnut gearing up for tomorrow's Chili Eating Championship in Orlando by sampling some different varieties.

http://i.imgur.com/kzeDObV.jpg



Being the World Record Holder at 2 gallons of chili in 6 minutes, he is the clear favorite. His main competitors will be Matt Stonie and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas who previously held a World Record of 1.125 gallons in 6 minutes.

[dilley]

neat

[BurningHammer]

I had followed this for many years. Watching so many competitions from Japan and many 4th of July hot dog events.

Basically, you gotta have eater's stomach or nothing. Chestnut and Kobayashi clearly have it. Others from Japan like Gal Sone, Giant Shirota and many others also have it but can't speed up as well as the two. Yes, metabolism still matters and it can be trained. Still you can train yourself to eat more but will never be over a certain limit unless you are as special as guys mentioned about.

[HardwoodLegend]

I had followed this for many years. Watching so many competitions from Japan and many 4th of July hot dog events.

Basically, you gotta have eater's stomach or nothing. Chestnut and Kobayashi clearly have it. Others from Japan like Gal Sone, Giant Shirota and many others also have it but can't speed up as well as the two. Yes, metabolism still matters and it can be trained. Still you can train yourself to eat more but will never be over a certain limit unless you are as special as guys mentioned about.

I've heard that Kobayashi has an abnormally low-sitting stomach which allows for more expansion, but I haven't heard the same about Joey Chestnut. I assumed he benefitted from simply being bigger. Imagine if he had Kobayashi's low stomach and trained hard to be as lean in his abdominal muscles covering it (more expansion room). The numbers he could put up would be staggering. Even bigger margin of victory in some of their showdowns.

[iamgine]

Chilli with double L is more fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnaZEGie2Xk

[BurningHammer]

I've heard that Kobayashi has an abnormally low-sitting stomach which allows for more expansion, but I haven't heard the same about Joey Chestnut. I assumed he benefitted from simply being bigger. Imagine if he had Kobayashi's low stomach and trained hard to be as lean in his abdominal muscles covering it (more expansion room). The numbers he could put up would be staggering. Even bigger margin of victory in some of their showdowns.
I don't know what he has done, but Chestnut seems to be the natural, with some training to fight the reflux and others. Man, it is still hard to see this guy struggling to swallow at the 4th of July events.

Still Kobayashi is the greatest competitive eater of all time. Without him, Chestnut will never be discovered. He has done a great jobs promoting himself through indie competitions too. Don't let Major League Eating monopolizing the whole thing.

[Dresta]

Don't get the attraction at all. Seems boring and pointless and idiotic to me. But then i can't understand most of the things people claim to like and enjoy, alas.

[HardwoodLegend]

Don't get the attraction at all. Seems boring and pointless and idiotic to me. But then i can't understand most of the things people claim to like and enjoy, alas.

It's a fascinating challenge that pushes the human body to its limits. Are you a fan of any form of physical competition?

And, the secrets of some of these eaters' preparation and training can actually help some people who may be suffering from digestive complications. "The Black Widow" claims she has never gotten heartburn. A woman who has consumed 1.125 gallons of chili in 6 minutes and 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes. She's obviously gifted genetically in some respects, but I'm sure she has some advice about fasting and strategically timed water consumption that could help clear up a lot of what others may be suffering from to build a stronger intestinal tract.

There are some uses if you look at it hard enough.

[HardwoodLegend]

I don't know what he has done, but Chestnut seems to be the natural, with some training to fight the reflux and others. Man, it is still hard to see this guy struggling to swallow at the 4th of July events.

Still Kobayashi is the greatest competitive eater of all time. Without him, Chestnut will never be discovered. He has done a great jobs promoting himself through indie competitions too. Don't let Major League Eating monopolizing the whole thing.

I have no idea why MLE didn't let Kobi do as he pleased. A true pioneer who put them on the map, and a compelling personality that could have helped gain more business anyway by increasing public awareness. Joey Jaws is a superb talent but doesn't have the charisma or presence of Kobi.

[HardwoodLegend]

Chilli with double L is more fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnaZEGie2Xk

Pretty badass, but I could be able to appreciate it more if I were sitting there with them and knew just how hot those chillis were.

I prefer watching the sprints as opposed to the long distance events in Track & Field, and that chilli contest feels like a long distance race in comparison to the high-octane excitement of speed/volume eating.

[BurningHammer]

I have no idea why MLE didn't let Kobi do as he pleased. A true pioneer who put them on the map, and a compelling personality that could have helped gain more business anyway by increasing public awareness. Joey Jaws is a superb talent but doesn't have the charisma or presence of Kobi.
Kobi wants to compete in other events outside MLE-owned ones. MLE said no. Also, MLE probably see Chestnut more as its cash cow than Kobi who is not American.

Anyway, if Kobi had a contract with MLE, he would never show up in Canada doing his things. The guy is spreading his own wings nowadays.

[BurningHammer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJGqJI84uoY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21S7apZPSJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AfQS5plgG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQr98kYzDYU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhT6KaCZGv8

Food Battle Club the 2nd, semi-final and final; featuring Kobayashi, Shirota, Kishi (the shade-glasses guy, very good long distance eater), and Iteya (Kobi's oppenent in semi-final, very good speed eater).

[Thorpesaurous]

Many years ago I actually was in an eating competition with a bunch of these guys. It was for a fundraiser, and being run by my favorite rib joint at the time, The Ash Creek Saloon. They auctioned three spot off to the public, and I won outbid the crowd to be in it at like 250 bucks.

It was outside on probably the hottest day of the summer on a parking lot behind a local theatre that abuts the train station. They put all of us "competitors" into the theatre garage bay, where it was much cooler, and I got to meet Chestnut, Sonya Thomas, Tim Janus, and Pat Bertolletti. There were a few others, but those were the ones I remember. Chestnut had just started winning 4th of July's.

We were give a tray of 5 lbs of ribs, and an empty tray to put bones in, and when the 8 minutes was up, they weighed the carnage to see what we ate. I consumed a touch over two lbs of ribs, something like two racks in 8 minutes. I finished second to last. Beating another amatuer, and coming in a hair behind the third. There was a local pro next to me who had eaten almost all of his five lbs, and he was expressing awe at the real pros. He was a young guy, in pretty good shape.
It is a physical achievement. Until you try it, I'm not sure people can fully appreciate the simple impact of trying to chew that aggressively. I gave myself a headache just working my jaw.
In the back, all the big time guys had their own drinks that they refused to divulge. And Sonya Thomas had some elaborate stretching routine she did. I make no mistake that there is a huge genetic factor at play here. Guys like Chestnut and Kobiyashi's stomachs are like Wilt Chamberlain's legs, or Nolan Ryan's arm. There's only so many guys with that potential out there. But once they've identified themselves, some of them put in a ton of work to max out that potential.

Chestnut just barely beat Bertolletti that day, who I believe claims to be a vegetarian, which is how little what they're doing they actually consider "eating". And I often wonder how they even discover that this is something they're capable of.

[HardwoodLegend]

It is a physical achievement. Until you try it, I'm not sure people can fully appreciate the simple impact of trying to chew that aggressively. I gave myself a headache just working my jaw.

It all starts with training the masseter muscles.

Check out this ESPN Sport Science segment with Joey Jaws: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QW_ve1TlmI

One area I wish they covered is post-contest digestion and recovery. I want to know more about that, because I'm sure that's a work-out in itself. I wonder if the law of diminishing returns applies, and the body accelerates exponentially in its calorie expenditure to handle the elimination of all the waste. ESPN probably wouldn't want to gross their audience out too much, so that may be a topic for The Science Channel.

[millwad]

Disturbing and it takes an idiot to find this amusing and interesting. We are already overconsuming like crazy with out regular lifestyle, no need of worthless eating contests and it's only provoking when poverty and hunger is so common around the world.

[fiddy]

Disturbing and it takes an idiot to find this amusing and interesting. We are already overconsuming like crazy with out regular lifestyle, no need of worthless eating contests and it's only provoking when poverty and hunger is so common around the world.

Thats some commie shit right there. People are free to do whatever they like to, if they enjoy competitive eating thats their problem. There is enough food for everyone, poor distribution. Like 20-30 pounds of chilli is going to solve world hunger.

[HardwoodLegend]

Disturbing and it takes an idiot to find this amusing and interesting. We are already overconsuming like crazy with out regular lifestyle, no need of worthless eating contests and it's only provoking when poverty and hunger is so common around the world.

I find freaks of nature to be interesting, period.

Keep acting like you fully understand the complex network that is the human digestive system and know all of the secrets behind these competitors' ability to mass consume. As long as there are things unknown about the human body, they will continue to be interesting. I'm sure the level of health of some of these competitors who have been at it for a number of years would puzzle many doctors.

[millwad]

Thats some commie shit right there. People are free to do whatever they like to, if they enjoy competitive eating thats their problem. There is enough food for everyone, poor distribution. Like 20-30 pounds of chilli is going to solve world hunger.

Has nothing to do with communism, it has to do with common sense. Coming from Bulgaria you should have no problem seeing where I am coming from with my argument since you live in one of the poorest countries in Europe.

I am not saying that people aren't free to do whatever they'd like to do, I just find it disturbing and you just said it yourself. There's enough food for everyone, that is if people wouldn't over-consume in richer parts of the world and an eating contest is a perfect example of it. And your chilli comment is out of place as well, that is the same way people think when they throw they garbage in the wild instead of holding the garbage for a couple of seconds so they could throw it in the closest garbage bin.

[millwad]

I find freaks of nature to be interesting, period.

Keep acting like you fully understand the complex network that is the human digestive system and know all of the secrets behind these competitors' ability to mass consume. As long as there are things unknown about the human body, they will continue to be interesting. I'm sure the level of health of some of these competitors who have been at it for a number of years would puzzle many doctors.

You totally missed my point, science will not gain a bit from some lunatics over-consuming food during a short time span.

[fiddy]

Has nothing to do with communism, it has to do with common sense. Coming from Bulgaria you should have no problem seeing where I am coming from with my argument since you live in one of the poorest countries in Europe.

I am not saying that people aren't free to do whatever they'd like to do, I just find it disturbing and you just said it yourself. There's enough food for everyone, that is if people wouldn't over-consume in richer parts of the world and an eating contest is a perfect example of it. And your chilli comment is out of place as well, that is the same way people think when they throw they garbage in the wild instead of holding the garbage for a couple of seconds so they could throw it in the closest garbage bin.
The only thing i could gather from your comment is that youre biased as hell. Poor doesnt mean starving. Rich parts of the world doesnt have anything to do with overconsumption. There are people overconsuming even in India and China, but the fat ones there are the rich ones. As a matter of fact Mexico is the fattest country in the world, yet they are nowhere near being the richest one. My point is that overconsuption is going to occur as long as people can afford it.