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Competitive eating—it’s the Cinderella story of the sports world. Once relegated to county fairs and the back pages of small-town newspapers, the sport now has a circuit, stars, plenty of up-to-the-minute coverage, as well as its own brand of sports injuries.
But the pure avalanche of press that surrounded this year’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest has not been all positive. The backlash has definitely begun. Sportswriters seem especially peeved at the growing stature of competitive eating.
Mike Downey of ChicagoSports.com harshes pretty badly on ESPN’s coverage:
This is not a cute blueberry pie-eating contest from a rural state fair. This is a full-scale competition, nationally televised and as heavily promoted as Wimbledon, which glorifies a freak show. A ‘sport’ that tests the limits of who will become physically ill first, the ‘athletes’ or the audience.
The New York Times (registration required) even gets into the act with an article whose inflammatory title—“The Hideous Masters of Gluttony”—is a lot more vicious than the reasoned piece itself.
Curious about the whole phenomenon? A National Geographic documentary titled Science of Speed Eating premieres Sunday night.
Competitive Eating is an insult to Eating.
My panties remain unbunched, my bonnet is bee-free and there's nary a burr under my saddle. But I can still have an opinion.
Competitive eating IMHO is an insult both to the food and to eating. Whether at a rural county fair or an internationally televised contest, it still strikes me as something that decreases our humanity. (As does too much of our pop culture.) I choose not to watch this...+READ
My panties remain unbunched, my bonnet is bee-free and there's nary a burr under my saddle. But I can still have an opinion.
Competitive eating IMHO is an insult both to the food and to eating. Whether at a rural county fair or an internationally televised contest, it still strikes me as something that decreases our humanity. (As does too much of our pop culture.) I choose not to watch this awfulness but I wouldn't stop anyone from watching it if they wanted to. I hope our culture loses its fascination for this quickly, but I look at the continued popularity of the Anna Nicole Smith show and my hope disappears faster than a frank down Kobayashi's gullet.-COLLAPSE
I don't get my panties all in a bunch about this kind of stuff. There have been eating contests for decades. For whatever reason, the Nathan's one really caught fire and gets a lot of press.
You don't like it, you don't have to watch. Please stop with all the hand wringing.
Whether this is a "sport" or not is the least of my concern. I'm tired of seeing clips of people stuffing their faces with food on the evening news, as a "human interest" story. It's gross and disgusting. Sadly, it is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with our consumptive, competitive society. Grab as much as you can, as fast as you can, and if you can offend a lot of people and waste...+READ
Whether this is a "sport" or not is the least of my concern. I'm tired of seeing clips of people stuffing their faces with food on the evening news, as a "human interest" story. It's gross and disgusting. Sadly, it is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with our consumptive, competitive society. Grab as much as you can, as fast as you can, and if you can offend a lot of people and waste a ton of food in the process, even better.
If your two-year-old child acted like that you, you would likely tell him off. But when adults do it, it's "funny" and worthy of the evening news? Yeah, I hope there is a backlash, and soon. A women in Ontario died during a marshmallow eating contest last summer. I can't think of a more pathetic way to waste your life.-COLLAPSE
hungry_p, since you do not think that Competitive Eating is a sport and in view of World Hunger you find it offensive (and I totally agree) how about you and I do what we can to start a new competitive sport - Competitive Hammering - A match is to be between pairs of opponents each of whom is equipped with a standard 16 oz claw hammer. On a signal, each one hits a finger on the other's free hand...+READ
hungry_p, since you do not think that Competitive Eating is a sport and in view of World Hunger you find it offensive (and I totally agree) how about you and I do what we can to start a new competitive sport - Competitive Hammering - A match is to be between pairs of opponents each of whom is equipped with a standard 16 oz claw hammer. On a signal, each one hits a finger on the other's free hand - first one to withdraw his hand is the loser.
Sounds to me as watching that would be as much fun as watching folks shove hot dogs into their faces.
Question sir, why do you say that competitive BBQ as run by KCBS or MIM is not a sport???-COLLAPSE
Competitive eating is not a sport. Period. And neither is barbeque. Competitive eating is one of the more obvious and obscene examples of conspicuous consumption. There is nothing that can be said in its defence, as it is a moral and physiological offence. For anyone interested in attempting to defend it, I recommend that they first look at this thread
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/407590
and...+READ
Competitive eating is not a sport. Period. And neither is barbeque. Competitive eating is one of the more obvious and obscene examples of conspicuous consumption. There is nothing that can be said in its defence, as it is a moral and physiological offence. For anyone interested in attempting to defend it, I recommend that they first look at this thread
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/407590
and follow the link
http://www.time.com/time/globaleats
and then contemplate discussing a hotdog eating contest with the Aboubakar family in Chad.-COLLAPSE
But of course it is a sport, taking 'training, talent and ... physical endurance'. It is certainly more disgusting than many other sports, but not as immoral as, say, professional basketball (ever seen a municipal stadium deal?).
I think that competitive eating (which is NOT a sport) is one of the most disgusting things ever concocted. People wonder why America has such a rampant obesity problem, and yet huge portions, buffets, and overeating seem to be glorified by the general population.
I hope CH hasn't become so desperate that it has to report on eating contests. It has nothing to to do with food.
I'd love to see one of these events staged in an African nation where the family food budget is $1.16 a week.
A truly foodie competitive sport is Barbecue. At a KCBS Barbecue contest entrants submit chicken, pork ribs, pork (shoulder, picnic or butt) and brisket to be judged on Appearance, Tenderness/Texture and Taste.
They use trained judges (if possible) and it is much more of a sport then hot dog eating with a clock running
Did you read Mike Downey's article? I also must apologize, I got the nomenclature wrong, it was a reversal not a return. I was confused.
Did you ever see a 2 handed backhand reversal?
Competitive eating, even if shown on ESPN is not a sport.A sport takes training, talent and demonstrates physical endurance...it ultimately shows the amazing achievements of human beings and what we're capable of. Kobayashi and other competitive eaters may do their own form of "training" but in reality it's just a sad mockery...what is the accomplishment? How is shoving food that you don't need...+READ
Competitive eating, even if shown on ESPN is not a sport.A sport takes training, talent and demonstrates physical endurance...it ultimately shows the amazing achievements of human beings and what we're capable of. Kobayashi and other competitive eaters may do their own form of "training" but in reality it's just a sad mockery...what is the accomplishment? How is shoving food that you don't need into your throat an achievement? If they admitted it was for entertainment purposes only I would still be grossed out but at least that would be more honest. I'm not a sports lover but I can appreciate what it takes to become a world class athlete. Winning the "Nathan Belt" may be a fun story to tell your grandkids but it does not make you a sports hero. And to the person who compared Chestnut to Lincoln...that is an insult to American history so I hope that he was joking...but since he's the same person who's trying to get eating contests into the Olympics...sadly he probably isn't.-COLLAPSE
I like any sport where throwing up is called a return.