I’m very excited. The United States finally has taken it to the next level. In one of the most important sporting competitions in the history of mankind, we finally have a shot. His name is Joey Chestnut. No, you haven’t heard of him. But, he could be the most significant athlete since Jesse Owens.
Now, we’ve been dominant in all kinds of different sports. Our sports leagues are generally thought to be the tops in the world (apart from soccer, but that doesn’t count). Baseball, basketball, football… well, hockey not so much… but still… you know what I’m saying.
For the record, there aren’t many of our major sports where the Japanese dominate us. Sure, there are some terrific guys in MLB, Ichiro, Matsui, Hideo Nomo. However, our washed up major league baseball players go over there to milk a few more years from their careers, as seen in the movie Mr. Baseball. (I may be the only person that saw that one.) But the American sporting scene has had no one to compete with Takeru Kobayashi. He has been dominant. World champion 5 straight years. Physically unimposing at 130 lbs. he still has ruled the roost. Untouchable.
Out of nowhere comes this 22 year old civil engineering student at San Jose State. He has made a major splash on the IFOCE circuit. He is the current holder of the American record, and he’s shooting for the world. This upcoming competition could really be like Ali v. Frasier or Bird v. Magic all over again. Mark your calendars for July 4th. The USA is going to regain the title, and Mr. Chestnut is just the guy to take us back to glory. It is only appropriate that on Independence Day America with reign again.
Go USA.