Countdown to the 4th of July

12 days. There are 12 days left until the 4th of July, and that is SUPER exciting for several reasons. Number one is obvious: it's the Sports Biotch's birthday. Then there is the lesser-known Independence Day. In a very close third, though, we have the greatest sporting event of all time: the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Yes, I said sporting event. If golf gets to count as a sport, well so should eating. If you've ever actually witnessed one of these competitions in person, you would most certainly agree. While it's impressive on TV, it's just appalling in person when you see pounds and pounds of food disappear instantly into someone's mouth. These guys practice year-round to get their bodies to perform really strange, often gross, but always incredible feats.

What drives me crazy about the Nathan's competition and competitive eating in general is not that it is marketed as a sport, but that everyone still keeps talking about Takeru Kobayashi. Okay, he's a very small Japanese dude, and it's pretty memorable when someone that small can eat that much food. But COME ON! Stay on top of your competitive eating news, people! Kobayashi's reign is over and there has been a new champ in town for four years. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut beat Kobayashi in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and he won the competition last year, when Takeru wasn't even allowed to participate (and caused a bunch of drama over it). He is the current record holder in the eating of hot dogs and tons of other foods...not including desserts, though, because Joey sees that as unhealthy. Not only that, but Joey is the proud recipient of my "awesomest bobble head I own" award. Mine is even sweeter than the one below because it's autographed. Probably worth millions.



Since I am in Panama, I won't get to watch Joey's 5th consecutive victory. But I hope that all of you will take a look at the listings for sports programs in your area and be sure to check out this historic event. In the meantime, here's a SWEET video we filmed of Joey training for a fried asparagus eating competition (yup, that really exists) when I worked at Yardbarker.com.