World famous hot dog eating champion Kobayashi did not show up for the Man Bites Dog Hot Dog Eating Fiasco prelims on Saturday, May 14 at the Lightbulb Club. However, 25 lesser-known competitive eaters participated, and seven of them advanced to the Hot Dog Eating Championship at the upcoming Block Street Block Party on May 22.
The competition Saturday night featured seven rounds of three to four participants each. The fastest person to eat two hot dogs in each round qualified for the championship during the block party. Each winner also qualified for an end-of-the-night championship for bragging rights and not-broken prizes.
Michael Jordan celebrates
Local hot dog eater Michael Jordan edged out Joseph McDermott in the finals to win Saturday night’s final competition.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” said Jordan after defeating McDermott in the final round.
Five of the seven first-round winners were still around when the finals began at around 1:30 a.m., but it was Jordan who was able to escape with the grand prize of the night; a hand-made pillow from someone’s lakehouse, and a copy of L. Ron Hubbard’s “Space Jazz” (the soundtrack to Battlefield Earth) on vinyl.
Jordan’s win did not come without a bit of controversy, however.
McDermott appeared to have won the contest before a judge pointed out that there was still a blob of soggy bun left on his plate. McDermott, who had already hoisted his arms in celebration, grabbed for the last remnant of bun, but Jordan had already seized the victory.
The next qualifying round of the Man Bites Dog Hot Dog Eating Fiasco will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 22 during the block party, just before the championships that same day at 4:30 p.m.
Below are some photos of the preliminary round, including several pictures of people will their mouths full of hot dogs.
* If the above slideshow doesn’t load, you can view all the photos from this set on Flickr.
