It’s that time of year again. The 4th of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. It has become a tradition in my life ever since I made my way down to Coney Island in 2004 after the Richmond, VA based  band I was managing at the time drove up to NYC to play a show on the 3rd.  I returned the next year, intentionally booking the band a show so I could make the trip.  The year after that the bad actually played the contest and the last three years I have been covering the event as a journalist.  The last two years for the Village Voice.  I have seen some amazing feats.  I was there for Kobayashi breaking his own record with nearly 54 hot dogs in 12 minutes which no one ever thought was possible.  I was there when Joey Chestnut defeated him in a contest which shocked the world and I was there last year when Chestnut ate an impossible 68 hot dogs in just 10 minutes.

This year records were not broken.  It was so hot that eaters across the board had troubles eating.  Chestnut, who ate 72 hot dogs in practice, managed to win the contest eating 54 hot dogs. Five years ago this would have been an incredible feat, but this year people questioned if he wasn’t pushing himself without a serious contender.  You see, this year Kobayashi watched from the stands.

Due to a contract disagreement between Kobayshi and the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) the Japanese legend did not compete. Right before the contest started he appeared in the crowd and people began chanting his name.  He was wearing a “Free Kobi” t-shirt but seemed content to watch from the stands. When it was over and Chestnut had one, Kobayashi made a break for the stage.  His translator said that he wanted to eat for the people for free, others said he just went  up there to congratulate Chestnut, the Larry Bird to his Magic Johnson. Either way he was grabbed by police and carried of stage.  He clung with all his might but eventually was pulled off.  He was arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest and spent the evening in jail.

Later at the after party competitors, friends and family were cheering for Joey, themselves and America as the ESPN highlights showed on TV.  They had a big USA, USA! chant going on.  But when they showed Kobayashi being arrested a silence fell over the room until people started booing.  Everyone hated such a thing happen to a man they respected so much. The story should have been about Chestnuts 4th straight victory, but instead, it was a sad day at Coney Island and a sad day for Major League Eating.

Click here to see all the photos from the 4th of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island. Pictures from the after party will be up tomorrow. God bless America.

Ps. Just wanted to give a special shout out to Crazy Legs Conti who invited me to the after party and introduced me to a lot of the eaters.

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