How force-feeding ourselves hot dogs became a 'sacred American ritual'
Competitive eating has found a particular foothold in the American zeitgeist — even becoming entwined with ideals like patriotism.
by Matt Ozug
Jul 04, 2023
4 minutes
On a sunny June weekend on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall, nine contestants sidle up to a table full of paper plates. Each plate is piled high with hot dogs, and in a few moments, these brave people will shovel as many as they can down their throats, for a chance to compete at what may be the Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup of competitive eating, all wrapped up in one bun — the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, in New York's Coney Island.
At the D.C. event, the stage sits beside the stately neoclassical facade of the National Gallery of Art, and there's a "splash zone"
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