Eating a pie with no hands focuses more on making a spectacle than speed eating, but since the early 20th century organized eating contests have become a traditional part of state and county fairs. The longest running of all, Nathan’s Hot Dog’s, evolved from 1916 at Coney Island to the ESPN July 4th extravaganza we know today. Philadelphia’s Wing Bowl entered the scene in 1993 a close second, but is the most coveted as the largest pay out in competitive eating history. The days of taking a trophy home from the fair seem like just memory. When almost $50,000 in prizes are on the line- you BETTER BELIEVE these participants are taking it seriously. Jonathan “Super” Squibb has and earned himself 2 cars, 2 trucks, 3 gold medals, 3 “bowl” rings, and $20,000. That’s right, close to a quarter of a million dollars in prizes for eating buffalo wings!
Competitive eating is being considered a sport as these contests grow in popularity with leagues, contracts, and endorsements, but many people may not understand just what this entails. Like so many other professional sports there is a great deal of mental and grueling physical training involved. Some participants boast about chewing ice cubes, a pack of gum, and even frozen tootsie rolls for strength, but there is also a science behind it. “The jaw, or masseter muscle, is pound for pound one of the strongest in the body.” A competitive eater is said to have some 280+ pounds of force in their’s, that’s stronger than a german shepherd! “The esophagus creates rhythmic contractions known as peristalsis to move food down the throat. An eater will often use a valsalva maneuver.” According to ESPN’s John Brenkus, “it’s like pinching your nose shut in an attempt to exhale with your mouth closed to clear your ears. It increases thoracic pressure… like squeezing a tube of toothpaste it can help move the food through the esophagus faster.” Bouncing up and down uses gravity to accelerate the process of moving the food and create a pocket in the stomach for more.
The average individual can hold 1 liter, but using “stomach training” an eater can hold an excess of 8 liters! Competitors must fight their gag reflexes and their stomaches natural reaction to such a large amount of food being dumped into it quickly. Some train with food, water, or both to ready themselves. They can will their brains to ignore the “full” feeling by repeatedly filling the stomach with massive quantities. Water training requires you to drink a gallon in 30 seconds! “Large amounts of water in a short period of time can dilute electrolytes in your blood and can lead to a loss of heart, muscle, and brain function. In most conditions drinking 8-16 oz of water would keep the human body hydrated. Water training can be dangerous resulting in perforating the stomach lining and water intoxication, which is potentially deadly.” warned Brenkus. Even still, some eaters think by stretching the stomach with water the food will go down easier. Neither activity is healthy.
The average american consumes 1,200 calories a day. After consuming a staggering 282 wings in the 30 minutes of Wing Bowl, Jon took in a mind blowing 20,304 calories. That’s 17 days of food in a half hour! Many successful eaters today believe that hitting the gym is a huge component of training and that body fat takes up valuable space for the stomach to expand. Squibb says he hits the gym at least 4, if not 6 times a week to stay fit. After consuming that many calories I can understand why. He agrees the training can be a bit overwhelming, especially when people are hovering over him in restaurants. “It comes with the crown” he said jokingly. “You can’t be named the people’s champion and expect them not to watch.” Though a ome eaters never reveal their training secrets, Squibb says that an intense training regiment at the gym and insatiable appetite is what fuels the three time champ. He has assured me that he will in fact be ready for this Friday’s competition and he’s feeling good.