Justin St. Ours

ESCANABA — It was time again for an annual American tradition. Unlike fireworks, explosions are not guaranteed at this event, and the competitors hope against hope they won’t be the ones having a “reversal of fortune”.

The Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog eating contest was held again this year, and so, on this celebration of our nation’s independence, one has to wonder: does competitive eating deserve the moniker of “sport”?

Let’s quickly get the sport accoutrements out of the way; viewership, leagues and money.

Starting with viewership, the annual Nathan’s hot dog contest has brought in over one million viewers for ESPN nine out of the last 10 years — not bad for a once a year event.

How about a league? Major League Eating was founded in 1997 to organize and oversee competitive eating events. Included inside this organization is the International Federation of Competitive Eating, which regulates global eating competitions.

There is money to be made in the competitive circuit, but it has more to do with sponsorships than prize money. The Nathan’s contest has a first place prize of $10,000, and smaller contests range from $2,000 to $6,000 for a win. It’s not chump change, but it’s not like the take-home of some athletes. However, competitive eating has more similarities with NASCAR in this respect; it’s estimated that the top competitive eaters can take home up to half a million dollars a year in sponsorships.

Something you should be able to find in any sport, and something people can latch on to, are charismatic and unique personalities. Eaters have this in spades. A women’s champ, Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas, gained her nickname from out-eating some of her male competitors. How about Richard “The Locust” Leferve, a 75-year-old man who competes in 30 to 45-minute contests with his wife. Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi revolutionized competitive eating with his 2001 entry into Nathan’s contest, eating 50 hot dogs to take the title and double the previous year’s record. And, the reigning Nathan’s champ, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has been topping his own record almost every year.

Let’s talk physicality next. It may seem like a ticket to an easy appearance on ESPN, but if you sit down and try to eat just a quarter of the current world record — 18 hot dogs — I think you’ll find it a monumental task in one sitting, not taking into consideration the usual 10-minute time limit.

So, how do eaters who want to reach the top adapt? The first method is to give yourself more capacity. Most competitors accomplish this by working up, over months, to chugging a gallon of water in 30 seconds’ time. The eight pounds of water will weigh more than any amount of food you’ll be able to eat in 10 minutes, and the act of quickly filling your stomach will stretch it over time. In fact, eater’s stomachs can become so full after a competition that pressure is put on their other organs as the stomach tries to expand as far as it can.

Jaw muscles are also an important focus. Chestnut has that nickname for a reason, and it is an important part of getting the food down. Eaters are known to chew five or six pieces of gum at a time, or even chew on silicone tubing with different durometers to properly work those muscles. Some eaters have been measured to have a bite stronger than a German Sheperd’s (280 pounds per square inch).

Vomiting is a disqualification in almost every contest, so a gag reflex is something that has to be actively suppressed. This is another thing that has to take shape over several months of training. Starting with water, competitors force themselves to not react to slugging it down as fast as possible. Once they have a handle on that, they move up the scale to soft foods and then solid ones.

“Chipmunking” is another key technique. Food has to stop entering the mouth when the competition ends, but each eater has a short amount of time to swallow anything already in their mouth. Therefore, rationing the space and efficiently filling the entire mouth is key.

I could go on, but the bottom line is competitive eating contains the essentials of a sport. It’s sometimes exciting and disgusting to watch in equal measure, and it’s something that is entertaining and has a surprising amount of complexity. It’s an American tradition, and I say, give it a chance.