Down Those Dogs

The 21st century has been a dark time for American fans of competitive eating. Despite an exploding obesity rate, for six straight years we couldn't even win our own Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. Instead, a skinny Japanese guy with six-pack abs named Takeru Kobayashi dominated us on our own home turf at Coney Island, in front of a live audience of 45,000 fans and another 1.5 million watching on ESPN. But all that changed in 2007 when Californian Joey "Jaws" Chestnut came out of nowhere to defeat Kobayashi and set a new world record of 66 hot dogs and buns in the course of 12 minutes. We can finally rejoice, but the price of hot dog supremacy is eternal vigilance, and the metro is being called to service. At 11 a.m., the Overland Park Sam's Club (8300 West 135th Street) is hosting a qualifying round to determine who will go to the July 4 main event. Kids 12 and younger can get an early start emulating heroes with a "Neat Eater" kids contest. Let freedom ring. Applications can be found online at nathansfamous.com.
Fri., May 30, 11 a.m., 2008