Joey Chestnut Will Salute America’s Troops With His Own 4th Of July Hot Dog Eating Contest After Getting Booted From Coney Island

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It’s still hard to believe 16-time Mustard Belt champion won’t be participating in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for the first time in close to two decades, but he’ll still be competing on the Independence Day after swapping Coney Island for the military base where he’ll go head-to-head with some American soldiers.

It’s been around three weeks since the competitive eating world was rocked to its core after Joey Chestnut was unceremoniously banned from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest over a petty dispute concerning his decision to sign an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods to promote their plant-based hot dog.

Some people theorized the development was a publicity stunt to drum up attention for a showdown Chestnut has only lost a single time since he initially won it all the way back in 2007, but it quickly became clear the folks at Nathan’s had actually decided to kick the biggest name in the history of competitive eating to the curb for cashing in with a competitor.

I’d personally argue the annual contest needs Joey Chestnut much more than he needs it, and while it seems like there’s a chance it will still be able to attract viewers who are curious to see who will fill the void that formed after the legend was exiled from Coney Island, I have a feeling it will come to rue the decision in the long run if he’s not eventually reinstated.

At this point, watching the man known as “Jaws” compete in a hot dog eating contest on the Fourth of July is a holiday tradition akin to chugging domestic beer and lighting off fireworks in honor of America, and the masses will thankfully still be able to get their fix courtesy of an alternative competition where Chestnut will be front and center.

Over the weekend, Joey hinted he had something special in the works when he revealed he was heading down to Texas to visit Fort Bliss on Independence Day, and on Tuesday, he followed up on that tease by announcing he’ll be facing off against four soldiers who are stationed there in a hot dog eating contest that will be streamed on YouTube (which will feature all-beef franks as opposed to the one he was punished for plugging).

Part of me wishes Chestnut had decided to go head-to-head with Nathan’s, but he opted to schedule the showdown at 5 P.M Eastern Time so it can instead serve as a palate cleanser.

I know what I’ll be doing at that time.