Not “The Pride of San Jose”

The other day, on KLIV Radio, they called Joey “Dumbnut” (not his real name), “The Pride of San Jose.”  Mr. Dumbnut is a former winner of that stupid hot dog eating contest that is held every Fourth of July.  I can’t stand those contests.  I think that they are disgusting, and promote a very bad image for American society.

Did you know that there is actually a federation for competitive eating? (I’m not kidding!)  Their website is: ifoce.com.  And there is a Major League Eating organization: majorleagueeating.com

Who are these people? Who watches these people?

Worldwide, people are starving in great numbers due to the price increases for fuel and the shifting of priorities for some crops. (More corn is being grown for ethanol, etc).  The BBC recently reported that more people are starving in India than Sub-Sahara Africa. 

I, for one, think that these competitive eating contests are an obscenity.  I would like to see them all cancelled someday.  At the least, let’s schedule the stupid hot dog eating contest on a day other than the Fourth of July, a day that should be celebrated with a little more solemnity and dignity.  As for Joey “Dumbnut,” would someone please ask him to say he’s from a city other than San Jose?

15 Comments

  1. what a tempest in a teapot. With all of the problems in the world, eating contests don’t make the list. If someone’s dumb enough to eat till they puke, I don’t care.

  2. We brought this upon ourselves in November 2006.  We had a choice.

    Chuck Reed – Hot dog-eating contests, broken sewer pipes, cracked streets, closed libraries.

    Cindy Chavez – Solving global warming, eliminating world hunger, thriving global economy.

    We made the wrong choice.

  3. Robert (#2),

    Your political analysis is on the mark. My only request is that you continue to remain anonymous, lest we lose your keen eye to the Democrats, or the Republicans, or Air America, or Fox News, or any one of the many others in the us-versus-them business.

  4. So true.

    And don’t get me started about those crop circles!  Why are the space aliens ruining our crops?  Don’t space aliens know there are hungry people down here?

    We should demand no less than council proclamations condemning the twin evils of hotdog eating and crop circles.

  5. Sometimes I wonder if we should have a huge city-wide ‘Kool-Aid Drinking Contest’.

    Your flavor choices are grape, cherry, or South Bay Labor Union.

  6. Pete moaned:” I think that they are disgusting, and promote a very bad image for American society. ” Mr Chestnut’s primary opponenet is a little Japanese guy, Kobayashi, I think his name is.  Bad image for Japan, too, Pete?

    Re India—it has by far the highest birthrate in the world.How else can it continue to supply us with unintelligible tech support from afar.  India also boasts the largest number of cattle in the world.  But since they don’t eat cow, they starve.  Let ‘em eat hot dogs!!!

  7. We also need to ban hot dog eating in and around clubs.

    Clubs are alway the issue.  Joe Chesnut has been known to frequent a number of spots downtown.  He and the clubs have to go.

  8. Everybody relax. You may not like eating contests and I don’t either, but they’ve been happening for a long time and people obviously enjoy it for whatever reason. But to say they’re an “obscenity” seems rediculously dramatic. And to be so angry at this kid that you can only call him Joey “Dumbnut” seems a little immature. For those of you interested in information, his name is Joey Chesnut and his actual nickname is “Jaws”.
    Don’t worry everyone, KLIV’s word is NOT bond and I can guarantee you Joey Chesnut is NOT the pride of San Jose. You really are so worked up over this that you would like to see them all “cancelled someday”? Solving world hunger is much more complex than just sending people the hot dogs we were going to use for eating contests. So please, Pete, just relax a little bit and you’ll find something actually worthwhile to do.

  9. I think poor perplexed Pete missed the irony of the announcer’s tongue in cheek (hot dog in stomach?) comment.
    Besides Pete, we all know that the Pride Of San Jose is…well, let me get back to you on that.

  10. India is approximately 87th in the world ranking regarding birth rate.  The increase in malnutrition has to do with the increase in the cost of staples, particularly rice.  Instead of making a bigoted comment regarding tech workers in India, maybe we should step back and admire the quality of education middle class students are receiving in India.  They are speaking a second or third language (English) far better than most of us here in America speak a second language (or even English for that matter grin

  11. I usually don’t respond to comments where the writer doesn’t have the nerve to sign his or her name to it, but I have to make an exception for one of the dumbest responses in San Jose Inside history.  #9 (HEFRO) writes, “Solving world hunger is much more complex than just sending the hot dogs we were going to use for eating contests.”

    I offered no solution to end world hunger.  What I did register was a complaint that a gathering of gluttons be celebrated on a day that should be reserved for more meaningful pursuits.  And, I added a wish that the chief glutton not disclose that he’s from our city.

    Pete Campbell

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