Happy Fourth of July! We are now just under a month away from the Hall of Fame game to kick off the NFL preseason, but in the meantime, why not kick back and eat some hot dogs?
Today, we celebrate America, which means it is once again time for the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at 9:00 a.m. PT. It looks like the contest will air first on ESPN News, and then on replay at 11 am PT on ESPN2. Seven-time defending champion and Bay Area native Joey Chestnut is back at Coney Island in search of his seventh straight victory, and another potential record-breaking performance. His current record is 69 hot dogs.
One of my favorite parts of the contest is the carnival barker style of George Shea. George and Rich Shea run the contest, and they provide amazing over the top entertainment with it. George will introduce each of the contestants, and the highlight of it has to be his intro to the contest itself. Here is one of his recent intros:
They say that competitive eating is the battleground upon which God and Lucifer wage war for men's souls, my friends, and they are right! For this is a battle of the ages, this is a battle for the titans! The being that is half god and comes to the earth only once in only one location! And that is here at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenue! The Mt. Sinai of Mastication! The Madison Square Garden of Gurgitation! So it is, so it shall always be....Brooklyn, Let the contest BEGIN!
We'll have some 49ers-specific content throughout the day, although we'll be a little lighter than normal given the holiday. For now though, enjoy the hot dog eating contest! Here's last year's contest: