By Marcial Guajardo

Managing Editor

I must ask, “How can you not appreciate the exploits of the man they call Chestnut?”

Not, of course, because they call him Chestnut, but rather because of the ability involved in digesting 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes, as Joey Chestnut did during the 2009 Nathan’s hot dog-eating contest in Coney Island, N.Y.

The hot dog-eating contest is now so well-known it is aired on ESPN, although many will debate if competitive eating is actually a sport. At first glance, one is likely to say “Chestnut is nothing but a nut!” At risk of being categorized in the same boat with Joey, I will say it is a sport.

Dictionaries will define “sport” as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Let’s break that down a bit, like Joey chomping away on a hot dog, or ice cream, as he did last weekend during the Austin Ice Cream Festival.

• “… for entertainment”: check

• “an activity involving physical exertion and skill …”: check

Past hot dog contest champion Takeru Kobayashi weighed around 130 pounds when in 2001 he obliterated the previous record (25) by devouring 50-and-a-half dogs and buns at the Nathan’s event. Kobayashi, credited with revolutionizing competitive eating with his record-breaking techniques, noted he trained year-round to prepare for such events.

Kobayashi, for example, found that eating large meals would stretch his stomach and so he did so year-round, with restaurants in Japan eventually allowing him a regular table in exchange for the publicity he offered.

He also found that standing while eating provided him an advantage over fellow competitors, as did developing a bird-like neck-craning technique that helped him digest his food.

Kobayashi’s feats most definitely involved physical exertion. You try eating 275 jalapeno peppers in 10 minutes, as Patrick Bertoletti did on May 2, and tell us otherwise afterward.

Kobayashi developed unique approaches to competitive eating and then had the skill to pull them off.

I must admit, in 2002 upon entering Round Rock’s Frontier Days jalapeno-eating contest, I figured I’d simply rip the peppers into pieces and place them behind my tongue, tobacco dip-style, and avoid the stinging heat.

That actually worked, but as my third-place finish would attest, my technique was flawed and, as my stomach would attest, I didn’t have the physical ability to carry out a victory. I ate only 14, while others – who did much better than I – told me they had been eating jalapenos in bunches or drank much milk the previous two days in preparation for the event.

• “… in which an individual or team competes against another or others …” check

Chestnut looks like a regular guy, much like the guys who stood next to him at the Ice Cream Festival podium Saturday in Austin. But those guys aren’t “eaters” and it showed, as together they ate 1 gallon of Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream in five minutes to Chestnut’s 1.25 gallons. However, I’m not sure if that included the amount digested and quickly regurgitated backstage by a disqualified competitor.

Having done my best to substantiate competitive eating as a sport, I’ll now throw my weight (which I’ll admit could use some competitive fasting at this point) behind bringing a competitive eating exhibition to Pflugerville.

You see, Chestnut stopped off at the Ice Cream Festival in Waterloo Park as part of the Pepto Bismol Summer Food Festival Tour, which includes stops at the Bite of (Portland) Oregon and the San Francisco Street Food Festival.

Chestnut, quite the competitor, wasn’t messing around when he dipped headlong into the vanilla ice cream, but his competitors were hand-picked from amateurs who entered the contest, as the Summer Food Festival Tour aims to put on exhibitions of competitive eating, rather than full-scale eater throw-downs (I said ‘-downs’ rather than –‘ups’; quite  the difference between said events).

Now, the crowd at Waterloo Park was considerably smaller than the 40,000 who watched the Nathan’s hot dog competition live on Coney Island. But those who came were eager supporters of Chestnut – chanting his name, banging Pepto noise sticks, and lining up for photos and autographs before and after the event.

Coordinators of Pflugerville’s annual Deutschen Pfest have done an outstanding job putting together an increasingly entertaining event locally. I would say crowds for this year’s Deutschen Pfest were considerably larger than that of Saturday’s Ice Cream Festival.

So, I now ask, “Would Pflugerville like to appreciate the efforts of Joey Chestnut, Kobayashi, Bertoletti or even Tim ‘Eater X’ Janus in person?”

If anyone with Deutschen Pfest would like to call me about it, I’ll gladly do my best to find out how much it would cost to bring an “eater” to town. I’ll also gladly take e-mails (news@pflugervillepflag.com) or comments on our website (PflugervillePflag.com) from anyone wanting to express their thoughts yea or nay on the subject.

It may not be cost-effective to bring an eater in (nor pretty, for that matter). I don’t know about you, but I, for one, say “Forks up!” to the thought!

From “Lose Yourself” by Eminem:

“If you had one shot, or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment

Would you capture it? Or just let it slip?”

(Played at Austin Ice Cream Festival Saturday shortly before Joey Chestnut devoured 1.25 gallons of Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream to win an ice cream-eating contest sponsored by Pepto Bismol.)