Major League Eating Enters Into Its Own ‘Kobayashi Maru Scenerio’

Magic and Bird. Nicklaus and Palmer. Ali-Frazier. Federer and Nadal.

All legends in their sports. All intrinsically linked. All defined in part by their rivalries. It only felt right when the championship came down to the two of them battling it out. Anything else felt like a cop-out.

Such is the dilemma facing Major League Eating (yes, they have an actual name). You might not have known the name of the league but you probably know the names of its two biggest stars. Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut. The former won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest from 2001-2006 and the latter has won it every year since 2007. While many used to wonder if Chestnut might ever be able to beat Kobayashi, the recent story has been whether or not Kobayashi could ever reclaim his place.

With their crown jewel rapidly approaching, the powers-that-be over at MLE must have swallowed hard before posting the news that it looks like Kobayashi will not be participating in the contest this July 4th.

“Takeru Kobayashi is currently not scheduled to compete in the 2010 Nathan’s Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. In recent weeks, Major League Eating has sought to arrive at an agreement with Kobayashi, but contract negotiations have reached an impasse. MLE remains hopeful that Kobayashi, who won the contest from 2001-2006, will decide to compete this July 4th in Coney Island, when Joey Chestnut will seek his fourth consecutive title.”

The sport lacks an up-and-coming star. A Michael Jordan to take over for Magic and Bird, if you will. Considering interest in the event has waned since the heyday of the rivalry, chances are that MLE might want to put its money where Kobayashi’s mouth is to make sure he’s there stuffing his face shoulder-to-shoulder with Chestnut.

Otherwise, its just a bunch of random people eating hot dogs. And what’s so interesting about that?