5. Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest at Coney Island
Courtesy of Nathan’s Famous, Inc.
Coney Island’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest returns again in 2019! Legend has it that on Independence Day in 1916 four immigrants competed in a hot-dog eating contest at the original Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand in Coney Island to see who was the most patriotic. Today, this contest continues and you can watch world-champion eaters chomp down as many Nathan’s Natural Casing hot dogs as they can in only ten minutes.
The woman’s competition occurs at 10:45 AM and the men’s at 12:00PM. You can either watch the contest in person among a crowd of over 40,000 fans, or from the comfort of your home on ESPN along with about two million other viewers. 11-time champion Joey Chestnut is ready to defend his title, but fierce competitors Carmen Cincotti and Matt Stonie are coming for him. Chestnut ate a record of 74 hot dogs in 2018 which is equal to 16 pounds and over 12,000 calories! On the woman’s side, Miki Sudo is a five-time Mustard Belt winner. Sudo ate 37 hot dogs in 2018, and is perhaps unstoppable. Who are you betting on to win this year’s competition?