Verborrhea

July 4th, 2007 - perhaps the most anticipated showdown in the history of all mantimes. The six time undefeated, undisputed champion of the world Takeru "the Tsunami" Kobayashi vs. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, the man who broke his unbreakable record.
If it's not enough that Chestnut already holds the world record, consider this: Kobayashi has acute arthitis of the jaw, an injury that could not only threaten his chances, but his career. To give people an idea how serious this injury is, imagine taking a sledgehammer to the foot of a world class sprinter a week before the Olympics. As of today, it is still unknown if Kobayashi will even compete in tomorrow's contest.

Some are claiming Kobayashi is hiding behind the injury because he's afraid of the American superstar. Others claim he is outright faking it. A fiddle playing friend of mine from a progressive folk rock band, told me:

"Kobayashi is being a pansy, he knows he's going to get creamed. "

Chestnut himself was quoting as saying:

"I hate to call anybody a coward, and I wouldn't call him that,

but I don't know. He's shown up the six previous years.

It's a strange coincidence, now that he's the underdog."

But is he really the underdog? Consider the facts: Yes, Chestnut's 59.5 HDBs (hot dogs and buns) is almost 5 better than Kobayashi's best. HOWEVER, Kobayashi has never been defeated by a mortal human. His only loss came against a 1,089 lb Kodiak Grizzly Bear. No man has stood shoulder to shoulder and bested him, including Chestnut. They have faced each other numerous times in the past, but each and every time the Tsunami washed him away.

It's one thing to break his record, it's another to stand across from him and defeat him. Until someone beats him, he is the champion.