While fireworks and beaches may be restricted areas in certain parts of the country this year, there is a Independence Day tradition you can still rely on: Nathan’s hot dog eating contest.
The annual Wiener Wolf competition will be broadcast live again on ESPN on July 4th, but as with other professional sports, the 2020 rate was almost reversed by the COVID 19 pandemic.
After all, the Nathan event usually shows tightly packed competitors swallowing the Frankfurt crowd in front of thousands of cheering fans. This year’s rate had to be changed radically to get the green light.
According to George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating, the organization that organizes the event, it appeared that the league had to cancel this year until officials found a way to proceed with a safe scenario. This year, participants will stand on stage in a warehouse where they sit six feet apart and are separated by plexiglass partitions. Shea tells Yahoo Life that the properties would not offer “the same mood and energy” as 15 eaters, 20,000 to 25,000 fans, and up to 100 media members reporting on the competition.
The crowd “would really increase it,” says Shea of the participants, but he is now tasked with arousing all the excitement on site.
Nevertheless, Shea expects some exciting developments at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2020. Shea predicts that 12-time winner Joey Chestnut will take the men’s title home with him. The competitive legend that Shea calls “American heroes” could also break his own world record of 74 dogs. As for women, Shea believes Miki Sudo will win another championship and explains that “she will wipe out the competition”.
Sudo has won the title every year since 2014. This year, however, she not only has an eye on the World Cup belt, but has also set herself an even higher goal. “Time for me to finally set this world record,” she says to Yahoo Life. Sudo admits that the lack of fans is a challenge.
“It is really helpful to have this amount to feed on,” said the six-time champion. However, once the attendee learned that the event was going to progress, she was “on the right track,” and Sudo believes that she will be entering the 2020 competition “stronger than ever”.
Nathan’s hot dog eating contest “is my favorite day of the year,” says Shea, expressing that he is also under pressure to deliver something to the television audience. The event may look different, but the most important thing is that the organizers keep the tradition alive.
Unfortunately there will be some participants who cannot participate. The event takes place in Coney Island. Due to travel restrictions, participants from Arizona and Washington cannot travel to New York.
Despite the changes, fans can expect excitement and maybe even the emergence of a competitive food story. Nathan’s hot dogs also use the event as a platform to draw attention to the importance of the country’s most important workforce. The company will donate 100,000 hot dogs to New York grocery banks to help those in need in this challenging year.
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Competition will air on ESPN on Saturday, July 4th at 12pm ET / 9am PT.
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