Kicker: A food fight

MLE ANNCR: [Crowd yelling] 5-4-3-2-1

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Competitive eating is so American we even have a major league!

ANNCR: Put down your hotdogs!

Top dog Joey Chestnut has put down plenty! They call him “Jaws” for a reason, you know. He’s won sixteen Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contests.

His record: seventy-six hot dogs and buns in ten minutes!

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: His mama must be so proud!

REICHARD: I guess so. But now Jaws has bitten off more than he can chew. This year Joey Chestnut decided to represent—gasp—a rival brand that sells plant-based hotdogs!

And it’s causing heartburn for Nathan’s Famous contest cofounder George Shea:

GEORGE SHEA: It would be like Michael Jordan saying to Nike, “I’m going to rep Adidas as well.” He’s an American hero and we want him there, and if we can resolve it we absolutely will.

BROWN: With a nickname like Jaws you really can’t be a vegetarian, quite frankly.

REICHARD: It’s The World and Everything in It.

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