• by Karl Greenberg , Staff Writer, July 8, 2010

Should I admit this or not? I was at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Championships on the 4th of July. I was there, on Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island, NYC, when Joey Chestnut slammed down his 56th hot dog to win in a decisive fashion. Fifty-six hot dogs in 10 minutes in something like 95-degree heat? That's talent. I think afterward, just to prove his alimentary mettle, he rode the Cyclone four times in a row.

Professional eating, as the sport is called -- and in case you doubt it's a sport, why, it was carried on ESPN -- is for real. It's really a competitive sport with its own international federation, with the same color and design scheme as MLB, NFL and NBA. But in the case of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, or "Major League Eating," the red, white and blue MLE symbol is a hand raising a fork. It even has its roster of corporate sponsors, including Heinz, Pepto Bismol (which sponsored the Nathan's gorge), Netflix, Coca-Cola, ESPN, Spike TV, Orbitz.com, Harrah's Entertainment and Old Navy.

MLE says it holds about 80 events annually, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, the Krystal Square-Off and the Pizza Hut P'Zone Chow-lenge and that its promotions generate more than a billion consumer impressions worldwide each year. Here's the kicker: the MLE says the ESPN broadcast of the Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest has generated a higher rating than any Major League Baseball telecast on July 4 in the United States.

Merchandise? Yes, there is MLE merchandise, including Badlands Booker's "Hungry & Focused II - the Ingestion Engine."

The question is how much is bun-in-cheek, so to speak. The emcee at Sunday Nathan's event introduced each eater with over-the-top pathos and aggrandizement, as in (barely paraphrased): "And now, the eater of the Free World, holder of world records in asparagus, cheese chili, sweet potato pie, and chocolate mousse" and "He walks alone, shunned by the world, tormented by his own past, eating his way to destiny ..." I was alternately laughing, crying, and gagging. As the 10-minute event proceeded, the announcer exhorted the crowd to cheer Joey on.

And there was even controversy as ex-champ Takeru Kobayashi was arrested trying to storm the stage, either in an effort to simply get a corn dog to go, or to compete. Kobayashi wore a "Free Kobi" t-shirt and argued, as he was been trundled off to jail, that it wasn't about money, but his freedom. Of course, no controversy is real without an official response, in this case from MLE:

"Takeru Kobayashi's actions at the Hot Dog Contest in Coney Island were inappropriate and unfortunate, but it did not diminish Joey Chestnut's victory, or the holiday tradition that dates back generations. Kobayashi was a great champion and we hope that he is able to resolve his current situation and move past this."

Well, it ain't Tiger Woods, but you've got to start somewhere. Does professional eating have steroids?