There was a period of time when I truly believed that it was unfathomable that Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi would ever be defeated in an eating contest. He blew the doors off this sport in 2001 at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest - the Mecca/Superbowl/Stanley Cup/ World Series of competitive eating. At that competition, Kobayashi whacked 50 dogs in 12 minutes, shattering the world record, set the previous year, by nearly double. He inspired me to dabble in amateur competitive eating, before my family had to step in amid concerns for my safety. Kobayashi's hot dog eating career peaked in 2006 when he downed 53.75 dogs to claim his 6th straight title, but the bigger story that year was upstart American wunderkind, Joey Chestnut, who threw back 52 dogs to narrowly finish in second place.

Going into the 2007 competition, 6 time defending champion, and face of the sport, Tsunami Kobayashi was still the favorite, but Chestnut had generated quite a bit of buzz following his world record setting 59.5 dog performance at a qualifier. That warm July day, with the weight of a nation bearing down on his shoulder, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut dethroned Kobayashi and set a new world record of 66 dogs. A legend was born.

Aided by an epic mental collapse by Koabyashi, Chestnut has gone on to dominate the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, hoisting the belt a staggering 7 times since 2007 (2007-2014). It has become a forgone conclusion that Chestnut will win. The reason people still tune is to see if he'll set a new world record and to appreciate the art of his technique.

All too similar to Chestnut's rise to fame, in 2014 Joey had a, up to that point, career low 61 dogs and faced stiff competition from hungry newcomer Matt Stonie, who came in second with 56. Stonie's competitiveness was shocking to competitive eating fans everywhere. Still, the smart bet was Chestnut, as most food pundits wrote off Stonie's performance as a fluky off day for Jaws.

In 2015, Chestnut was the world record holder, and 8-time defending contest champion, but his numbers had been slipping the past few years. After setting the world record in 2013 with 69 dogs whacked, he had dropped to just 61 in 2014. If his 8-dog drop wasn't a big enough red flag, incumbent challenger Matt Stonie had been tearing up the circuit in 2015. Stonie had taken a bacon contest in Daytona (182 slices in 5 minutes), a pepperoni rolls contest in West Virginia (34 in 10 minutes), and a pork rolls contest in New Jersey (15 (7.5lbs) in 10 minutes) all leading up to his July 4th showdown with Chestnut.

When the dust settled on July 4th 2015, Matt Stonie had pulled off a miracle and downed 62 dogs to Chestnut's 60. The world was stupefied. Chestnut loyalists everywhere thought it must be the end of days, clearly a sign of the apocalypse.

But Joey "Jaws" Chestnut's story is not one of domination and downfall, but one of redemption. Leading up to the 2016 contest - The Hundredth Anniversary of the competition - many people had jumped off the Chestnut train and on to the Stonie bandwagon. Stonie was being hailed as the next big competitive eater, and considered the favorite by many. on July 4th 2016, casual eating fans tuned in for the most highly anticipated hot dog eating contest since Chestnut-Kobabyashi in 2007. I literally left the beach to find a TV to watch. And we were not disappointed. As the two favorites squared off center-stage, we were treated to one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen in any sport, ever. Determined to prove his critics wrong, Joey C. crushed Matt Stonie and set a new competition record of 70 dogs - throwing the record-clinching hot dog in his mouth right at the buzzer - to reassert himself as the undisputed king of the sport.

Athletes like Chestnut come around every generation. Guys like Gretzky, Jordan, Ruth, and Chestnut are a rare breed. The type of athlete who revolutionize their sport. Just 20 years ago the Nathan's Hot Dog eating record was 22.5, today its 70. For some perspective, Chestnut ate 22.5 hot dogs in 2:21 this year. There has been a quantum leap in competitive hot dog eating technique and strategy over the past 15 years, thanks largely to innovators like Chestnut. Like the 4 minute mile, or breaking the sound barrier, 70 dogs in 10 minutes was once believed to be impossible. But Chestnut has again raised the bar for competitive eating. 20 years ago 50 hot dogs was considered an unfeasible feat, today it is the norm for competitors hoping to finish 3rd to 4th. As a sports fan, I hope Joey "Jaws" can continue to push the envelope and break down boundaries. He is not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.

Chestnut's composed technique has taken competitive eating out of the stone age

Here is a quick breakdown of Chestnut's eating records to illustrate his dominance:

Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Championship in Stockton, California, May 2014: 12.8 lbs. deep fried asparagus in 10 minutes.
Pork Ribs: 13.76 pounds pork rib meat in 12 minutes in Spark, Nevada on August 28, 2013
Matzoh Balls: 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes at Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaurant in Houston Texas on March 2, 2008
Shrimp Wontons eating contest in Singapore champion. 380 wontons in 8 minutes to set a new world record - May 9, 2010
On September 25, 2010, at the Phantom Gourmet Food Fest in Boston, Massachusetts, Chestnut won the Upper Crust Pizza Eating competition by taking down 37 slices in 10 minutes
March 17, 2012 (St. Patrick's Day) Chestnut set a new world record by eating 20 half pound Corned Beef sandwiches in 10 minutes at the annual Toojay's Corned Beef eating competition
September 2, 2012 Chestnut consumed 191 wings (7.61 pounds) in 12 minutes to win the 1st place competitive-eating trophy at the National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY
October 13, 2012, Chestnut won the Third Annual Smoke's Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championships in Toronto by consuming 19 boxes (9.5 pounds) of poutine in 10 minutes.
Bratwurst: 70 bratwursts in 10 minutes at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, OH on September 22, 2013.
Hard Boiled Eggs:141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes at the Radcliff Fall Festival in Radcliff, KY on October 5, 2013.
Pork Roll: 32 quarter-pound pork roll sandwiches in 10 minutes at the Trenton Thunder World Famous Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship in Trenton, NJ on September 26, 2015
Hot Dogs: 73.5 Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier in 2016. Set Nathans record with 70 on July 4, 2016
9x Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion
2x Hooter's World Wing Eating Championship champion
4x Hillshire Farm Bratwurst Eating World Championship champion