Sports Illustrated on post-MLE Kobayashi

July 1, 2016 at 10:47 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:Contracts, Kobayashi (小林尊)

Sports Illustrated has a long article on the state of Kobayashi’s post-MLE career and the devolution of his relationship with that organizaion. He is unwilling to go near Nathan’s Coney Island store despite living in Brooklyn. The article mentions plans for a big Chicago eating contest this year that fell through. Pat Bertoletti makes a cameo:

Comments (11)

11 Comments »

  1. anonymous said

    July 1, 2016 @ 12:42 pm

    You cannot disagree with what Kobe says. They want to control the world and that’s a good one. Remember when you were a kid in day camp? You rode the bus with 2 counselors the head counselor and the junior one. Head counselor is the one you sort of shy away from because he has that unapproachable aura while the junior counselor is the friendlier of the two. Same applies to George and Rich Shea. They arranged it so both would assume those roles with Rich as the junior counselor you can sort of pal up to. Looks can be very deceiving because both are cut from the same mold . In Kobe case he was a hot commodity . It’s like a hot girlfriend or a piece of property they want all to themselves and they’ll be damned if anyone or anybody dares to make a move and get him to compete anywhere else. What people fail to realize is that $$$ is all they care about . If they can’t make money off you they don’t need you especially if your eating skills are above average or less. Waitlisting means they don’t need you. Dumped from rankings means they don’t like you. However there are exceptions in the case of Conti and a few others who basically can’t eat their way out of a paper bag yet are deemed likeable in their eyes because they have some sort of gimmick that might stir up some media attention. In Badlands case he;’s a great eater and he puts up numbers even while he’s pushing 50 so anything else he does on the side (rapping CD’s etc) is additional gravy in the pot for the Shea’s . Whether or not they show a profit with Booker’s CD’s and live rap remains to be seen. Never sign contracts unless the stipulations in the contract are in your favor which include x amount of guaranteed yearly appearances and x amt of $$ guaranteed for each appearance . If you cannot sit down and agree on those very important issues then the contract is not worth the paper it’s written on

  2. Tomg said

    July 2, 2016 @ 3:55 pm

    Where Are They Now double issue was always a major highlight of summer. Caddyshack one year, this year it’s American Gladioator. Cover was a little scary, but Pat Bertoletti and Mac Wilkins mentioned in the same issue. Very cool to see feature on competitive eating in Sports Illustrated and fivethirtyeight on the same day.

  3. Anonymous said

    July 20, 2016 @ 5:14 pm

    Competitive eating has been in Sports Illustrated several times over the years.

  4. Anonymous said

    July 20, 2016 @ 5:15 pm

    The article says that every year the Sheas approach Kobayashi about participating in Nathans.

  5. anonymous said

    July 20, 2016 @ 7:25 pm

    515 if that is true then they are without question truly pathetic

  6. Anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 7:43 am

    7:25 I do not see why you consider it pathetic that the Sheas (if true) ask Kobayashi to participate only in Nathans. If he were to do so, it would be a coup for them, and many more people would watch and be interested. I certainly would. He only needs to do it once and will have to up his game to match Joey. James is called his manager/girlfriend/stylist etc. in the article. That’s true. He has no manager. His ideas come from her.

  7. anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 10:38 am

    If they didn’t have him arrested he might think it over . That said i doubt he will ever change his mind

  8. Anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 12:09 pm

    He was naive to come right onto the stage and expect anything other than being removed, whether arrested or not. It seems he really thought they would “let him eat”. It shows his huge desire to compete. I cannot imagine that he isn’t bored with his life as an eater. How many years does he have left? He has to do some commercial venture, and now he sees how difficult that is in the States.

  9. anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 2:14 pm

    He’s 38 he could probably go on for another 8 to ten years and still dominate but i don’t think he has any other skills to fall back on. I hope someone invested the money he made wisely with competitive eating

  10. anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 3:03 pm

    I figured he couldn’t afford the rent in Manhattan anymore. George Shea lives in park slope brooklyn. It would be nice if they both ran into each other while running shopping errands

  11. anonymous said

    July 21, 2016 @ 8:53 pm

    Maybe George can treat him to a few Nathans hot dogs at local Nathans restaurant , I am sure Kobe would forgive and forget after such a generous offer

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