Hot Dog King: National Hero, Hometown Dud

By Mike Nizza
Hot Dog King: National Hero, Hometown DudThe “Top Dog” didn’t even get above-the-fold in the hometown newspaper.

What’s more American than a nation celebrating the mighty young man who brought the Mustard Belt back home on Independence Day? Hometown pride over him, one would think. But that does not seem to be the case for one Joey Chestnut of San Jose.

While the news did land on the front page of The San Jose Mercury News, it was tucked in the bottom right corner, dwarfed by a feature article on dating. The headline — “TOP DOG!” — was sufficiently enthusiastic, though far short of the glee expressed by the ESPN broadcasters who wondered if Mr. Chestnut’s victory “could be the greatest moment in American sports history.”

Another line tossed out there as a possibility: “Google the word ‘hero’ tomorrow, and you’ll get Abe Lincoln and Joey Chestnut.” The point was clear despite the hyperbole: we’re ecstatic.

Mercury-News readers don’t seem particularly worked up either, in their comments or in that trusty gauge of excitement, the most-emailed list. “Kathy’s red, white and blue coffee cake” was No. 1; Mr. Chestnut’s miracle was nowhere in sight.

To be fair, the newspaper’s editorial board paid its respects to “San Jose’s ironman of eating” as “an unassuming blue-collar guy with hearty appetite and strong willpower.” It even urged the city to honor him (no plans so far). But the editorial’s sub-headline soured the mood entirely when it turned mercantile: “Use Hot-Dog Eater to Stir Up Business Downtown.”

UPDATE, 12:37 PM ET A commenter reports that “the Merc blew the coverage out too early; a Joey Chestnut graphic and story ate up at least 2/3 of A1″ on Tuesday. The front page, available here, is truly gargantuan.

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Stuart July 5, 2007 · 11:05 am

Eating contests such as these are truly ridiculous — even sillier to classify it as some sort of sport. Its placement in San Jose sounds about right. It never ceases to amaze me the extent of coverage this — or any other gluttonous event — gets.

Charles Frederick July 5, 2007 · 11:05 am

I’m with you, Mike. I was at the contest. There were crowds as far as the eye could see. Every time Joey pulled ahead of Kobayashi, the screams were so loud my ears only registered static. When he won, the crowd was even louder. It was an excellent American moment.

famdoc July 5, 2007 · 11:06 am

Am I the only one who feels even vaguely uncomfortable about competitive eating?
Firstly, it seems more than a bit vulgar in view of the fact that there is so much hunger in our own back yard, let alone worldwide. Secondly, like competitive poker, it fosters an unhealthy activity (whether it be gambling or overeating).

CP July 5, 2007 · 11:09 am

Maybe, the Merc blew the coverage out too early; a Joey Chestnut graphic and story ate up at least 2/3 of A1 on either Monday or Tuesday in a run-up to the big event.

Historian July 5, 2007 · 11:30 am

This proves that Americans are better than other peoples around the world. Our atheletes train harder and have more discipline and we win more medals at competative sports such as this. It used to be the Communists that won all the time, but now we win.

Sandra July 5, 2007 · 11:32 am

I watched the competition last night on ESPN–and while compacting all those hotdogs was quite a feat–it is not in my mind an actual “sport”. A sport is a physical activity that you do for exercise, or fun, or both. Hot dog eating is neither. The competitors dunk the buns in water to make them mushy, and the judges will take points off for reversals (aka barfing).

Maybe no one in San Jose is excited about their hometown guy winning the mustard belt, because no one should be winning the mustard belt–it is not a sport.

I found the whole thing extremely sad.

Jeff July 5, 2007 · 11:34 am

“Eating contests such as these are truly ridiculous — even sillier to classify it as some sort of sport. Its placement in San Jose sounds about right.”

Yea, and the article “Finding Love in China” is highly justified as the front page headline for this storied publication. The paper downplays the accomplishments of its native son, and seems to have an affinity for Communist China. About par for the course for today’s newspapers.

Dalton July 5, 2007 · 11:38 am

was the prize a gastric-by- pass? or liposuction? A contry that is so unhealthy should be supporting programs for healthy living not glutenous activities. I am very disgusted that independence is all about killing ourselves with food instead of celebrating the life and liberty that are been fought for us.

AJW July 5, 2007 · 11:38 am

Hey, San Jose is a great place, it just doesn’t have the fan base out there that it does in NYC. I went to a competitive grape-eating contest in Grand Central last year, and a lot of big-name eaters showed up. Where can you find that in San Jose? Go IFOC!

Brad July 5, 2007 · 11:39 am

Maybe a ‘restraint’ contest would be more appropriate. Put cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. in front of the contestants and see who eats the least.

Emi Elliott July 5, 2007 · 11:40 am

As a flag-wavin’ American, I am embarassed that we find this sort of competitive eating entertaining. It’s not just insulting to the millions of hungry people in the world, let alone America; but as a “recovering” coronary artery disease patient, I shudder to think of what these folks are doing to their heart, stomach, arteries, and yes blood sugar levels! Wake up folks!!

Sam Polo July 5, 2007 · 11:52 am

One word: humiliation. Who traveled outside of USA knows that one hot dog may be a “dream meal” for the whole day for majority of people inhabiting this world… No surprise millions hate us…

mAd-1 July 5, 2007 · 11:54 am

Isn’t it amazing that in a day where we turn on the t.v. to watch kids starving in other nations, our soldiers dying amongst them, we still celebrate a hot dog eating contest? Don’t get me wrong, this could be loads of fun but I would love to see something like the companies sponsoring these events to help these nations out that genuinely need it. Please don’t tell me it’s not our “responsibility”, after all, we seem to involve ourselves in many affairs which aren’t quite our messes to “clean up”.

Joego July 5, 2007 · 11:54 am

It’s about time Americans can rally around something. We lost the America’s cup after all. For all of you with a strict definition of sports lighten up a bit. Joey is a big boy and responsible for his own gastric health. Sports (or whatever it’s finally classified as being)are supposed to be fun right?

Chris July 5, 2007 · 11:57 am

Silly to “classify it as some sort of sport,” Stuart? Silly is in the eye of the beholder. Sport is about endurance and feats of skill and strength — and I’m afraid that this qualifies. If you’re grossed out, remember that other sports (e.g. marathons) result in contestants barfing.

Phil Hall July 5, 2007 · 12:01 pm

It’s great publicity for the hot dog company, but worthless as real news.

Phil July 5, 2007 · 12:02 pm

Probably some asiatic editor had something to do with it.

MG July 5, 2007 · 12:03 pm

famdoc, aren’t we allowed to do stupid things just because we want to… without having to ponder the socio-political ramifications of such? geez… i guess no, it’s not just you… but it CERTAINLY isn’t me feeling bad.

explodo July 5, 2007 · 12:04 pm

A newspaper with the strength of the Mercury shouldn’t even be devoting ANY front page space to some jackass who stuffs encased meat in his mouth for fun and profit.

PaulC July 5, 2007 · 12:06 pm

CP: good catch. I noticed that front page in a newspaper box but forgot about it. The best part is how it squeezes “Bush calls off Libby’s sentence” out to a narrow column on the right.

Still, it’s nice to see that competitive hot dog eaters can still afford to live in San Jose. I wonder how long that’ll last.

tom July 5, 2007 · 12:07 pm

The guys no hero,much less a “sports hero”. He`s a pig who happened to get his moment in the sun.Certainly not worth celebrating.

Elly Nesis July 5, 2007 · 12:08 pm

I found the hot dog eating contest highly entertaining. I watch it every year. To me it is amazing what they can eat. Kudos to the announcers for making outrageous comments which are humorous and feed into the whole cony island freak show atmosphere.

Edward July 5, 2007 · 12:09 pm

These eating contests are truly disgusting. I saw this last night while surfing the channels on my big screen. I can not imagine how sick those people must feel today.

LT July 5, 2007 · 12:15 pm

What a stupid story. The comments by the ESPN crew during the broadcast were not “hyperbole,” they were sarcasm! Half of the event is the competition, the other half is to celebrate the absurdity of it all. Apparentely Mike Nizza can’t wrap his mind around this.