Nathan’s hot dog eating contest 2008

This year’s 92nd annual Nathan’s hot dog eating contest was being marketed as “The Rematch II: This time it’s personal”. Six time champion Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi is going after 2007 champion Joey Chestnut who won by eating a world record  66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.

This year’s competition was exciting. After 10 mintues, both Kobayashi and Chestnut ate a total of 59 hot dogs! For the first time in Nathan’s hot dog eating competition, the winner had to be decided by a tie-breaker. The tie-breaker contest is who can eat 5 hot dogs the fastest. The 2008 Nathan’s hot dog eating champion is:

Joey Chestnut

21 people qualified for this year’s Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. This year, a hot dog eating newcomer was creating a buzz in the competitive eating world. Patrick Bertoletti is ranked #2 in the world, behind Joey Chestnut, and in front of Takeru Kobayashi.

Crowd favorites that made it to this year’s Nathan’s hot dog eating contest: Crazy Leged Conti, Arturo “Grande” Rios, Erik “The Red” Denmark, Eric “Bandlands” Booker,  Juliette “The Violet” Lee, Tim “Gravy” Brown, Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, and Tim “The X” Janus.

This year, the contest was only held for 10 minutes instead of the 12 minutes of last year’s competition. I doubt we will see a new world record set for awhile due to the contest being 2 minutes shorter. 1986 was the last time the contest has been 10 minutes long. The reason for the change is that contest officials found paperwork from 1916 that specified the time limit was 10 minutes. Looking at it in terms of health, its a move in the right direction. Last year Joey Chestnut ate a record 66 hot dogs. In terms of calories, that’s 19,600! With the shorter time limit this year, we will definitely see lower calories and cholesterol.

The Nathan’s hot dog eating contest has become a rivalry between America and Japan over the past 20 years. The last time someone not from America or Japan has won the contest was in 1984 when Birgit Felden of Germany ate 9 and a half hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Nathan’s hot dog eating contest rules

The rules of Nathan’s hot dog eating contest are simple. You have to meet one of the following four conditions

• Be the reigning champion
• Winning a regional qualifying contest for that season
• Qualify as one of two wildcards
• Special invitation by the IFOCE

After making it there, you have 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs as possible. You have to eat both hot dog and bun, but not necessarily at the same time.