EPTNEW YORK (Associated Press) - A Japanese eating champion who sat out this year's Coney Island Fourth of July hot dog contest apparently couldn't resist the temptation to hotdog afterward.
Competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut gobbled his way to a fourth consecutive championship Sunday. But he was suddenly upstaged by the surprise appearance of his biggest rival – six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi, who did not compete but crashed the stage after Chestnut's win and wrestled with police.
"Let him eat! Let him eat!" the crowd chanted as police handcuffed the world's No. 3 professional eater, dubbed "The Tsunami."
The 32-year-old Kobayashi did not eat this year because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating – the fast food equivalent of the NFL. On his Japanese-language blog, he said he wanted to be free to compete in contests sanctioned by other groups.
But a few days ago, he told Japan's Kyodo News: "I really want to compete in the event."
Kobayashi mingled with the crowd watching the contest, standing inside a police-barricaded pen just under the stage. When the eating ended, he slipped up the stage stairs and was welcomed by host George Shea.
Then, several security officers appeared and tried to usher him off. He grabbed a metal police barricade with both hands, holding on tightly as the officers pulled at him. Finally, they dragged him down the stairs, with Kobayashi resisting vehemently.
Competitive eater Joey "Jaws" Chestnut gobbled his way to a fourth consecutive championship Sunday. But he was suddenly upstaged by the surprise appearance of his biggest rival – six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi, who did not compete but crashed the stage after Chestnut's win and wrestled with police.
"Let him eat! Let him eat!" the crowd chanted as police handcuffed the world's No. 3 professional eater, dubbed "The Tsunami."
The 32-year-old Kobayashi did not eat this year because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating – the fast food equivalent of the NFL. On his Japanese-language blog, he said he wanted to be free to compete in contests sanctioned by other groups.
But a few days ago, he told Japan's Kyodo News: "I really want to compete in the event."
Kobayashi mingled with the crowd watching the contest, standing inside a police-barricaded pen just under the stage. When the eating ended, he slipped up the stage stairs and was welcomed by host George Shea.
Then, several security officers appeared and tried to usher him off. He grabbed a metal police barricade with both hands, holding on tightly as the officers pulled at him. Finally, they dragged him down the stairs, with Kobayashi resisting vehemently.
Kobayashi was arrested after this year's contest. It sucks that they've commercialized this to the point where you have to sign an exclusivity contract just to participate. What do you guys think about this? I personally think it's just stupid to "professionalize" competitive eating to the point where you are not allowing people to compete unless they sign a contract binding themselves to you. Until Kobayashi is allowed back into the contest, the legitimacy of Chestnut's win will always be in question so far as I'm concerned. How the hell do you not allow one of the biggest names in the sport to participate, particularly after he's been participating for so long?
This is a load of crap...
