Coney Island and the Hot Dog Eating Contest

There aren't many sporting events that I wouldn't attend.  Which means, there are a lot of sporting events I do/would like to attend. You can argue that professional eating is or is not a sport, but it is at the very least an event.  Every 4th of July, 10 minutes are focused on Coney Island instead of the bbq's, fireworks, and family outings.  As with every other "sporting event" within shouting distance of NYC, I try to make an appearance, and depending on how persuasive I am, Christie comes along as well.  So this 4th of July, I promised her with her first trip to the beach, so she agreed to accompany me to this spectacle.

Coney Island really isn't that far from Manhattan, roughly 45 minutes and only 2 subway rides out there.  So we pack a small bag and head out there for the day.  We expect a little sun and some good beach time.  We find out really soon, that EVERYONE had the same idea as us.  The subway was filled with beach goers.  I guess, the promise of sun, sand, and water was enough to lure half of the city out to the coast.

We get off the subway and make our way towards the action.  We had no idea what to expect, but while walking there we were greeted by a preview of what was to come.

Yes, they are the official refs of the hot dog eating contest.  I let them know that my friends ate 100 chicken nuggets in around 1 hour and they weren't rally amused.  But they did take a picture with me.

 As the countdown clock stated we were within 2 hours of the main event... and let's just say people were both fired up and patriotic.

We head down to the original Nathan's hot dog "stand"

I enjoy my first Nathan's hot dog.  I mad sure to eat it before I saw the event, because I didn't know how long it would be till i ate my next one after watching people eat them at a rate of 5-6 a minute.

Probably the greatest into I have ever seen live.  This guy was pumped up and seriously got everyone else pumped as well.  We would need it, because on TV the event really take 10 minutes, but in real life things take a loooooong time.  Christie and I stood in the crowd for around 2 hours, after we got our spot, in the heat, and with a lot of other large bodies around, it was almost unbearable.  All this to watch grown men, swallow full size hot dogs.  But hey, we knew there would be a little waiting involved.  And I knew I would owe Christie big time for this.

The results were a foregone conclusion.  Joey Chestnut from San Jose, won by eating 64 hot dogs in 10 minutes.  Which was just as disgusting thinking about it as it was watching in person.  Check that off the list, and never have to do/see that again.  

So we decide to head to the beach.  But so did everyone else.  I have never seen a beach so packed since, South Africa.  But in South Africa they had a big screen projecting soccer matches, at Coney Island, everyone just wanted a little piece of sand to spend their 4th of July at.  We looked at each other and both knew that this was not the beach day we were expecting and starting the trek home.

But everywhere was packed... And Coney island with their vintage coasters and carnival games, really gave us reason why we would never come back again.  It reminded us more of the jersey shore than the Santa monica pier.