New poll: Kobayashi in 2009 Nathan’s finals

February 1, 2009 at 4:30 pm by ojrifkin · More posts about:2009 Nathan's Hot Dog Contest, Kobayashi (小林尊), New York City

The new poll asks if you think whether Kobayashi should receive a bye to this year’s Nathan’s finals and if he deserves travel expenses if you believe he merits an automatic invitation to Coney Island.

In more Nathan’s news, this column credits William “The Refrigerator” Perry’s participation in the 2003 contest with making the Nathan’s finals the Super Bowl of competitive eating.

Comments (28)

28 Comments »

  1. Paul Porkslap said (Registered June 16, 2008)

    February 1, 2009 @ 4:42 pm

    Kobi is an eating god. Why not give him a slide to Coney. Id say the boy has paid his dues

  2. North Pole said (Registered April 28, 2008)

    February 1, 2009 @ 6:28 pm

    The bye and travel expenses sound good to me. There are several folks that deserve the same as well.

  3. Don''Moses'' Lerman said

    February 1, 2009 @ 9:34 pm

    what made Nathans the super bowl of ce was not koby or refrigerator Perry it was The 3 amigos in the documentarys gutbusters and the big eats ,we went around the country and entered every Nathans contest turning it from a local to a national event , give credit were credit is due. Don Moses Lerman, Krazy kevin Lipsitz and Ed cookiejarvis are the ones who should get a bye to Nathans , let koby earn his way in.

  4. Anonymous said

    February 1, 2009 @ 10:18 pm

    and the point of the 3 amigos was to beat who?

  5. The reader said

    February 1, 2009 @ 11:08 pm

    Ed Jarvis , Don Lerman and Krazy Kev quit because they were being upstaged by younger and better eaters. No other reason than that reason. Jarvis was probably the only eater of the three that could hang in there with Sonya and Joey for a brief time period. If you want to argue the point, what big name in the sport has don lerman beat for a title? Can you name the great legends he beat to win his cloudburger, jalapeno and matzah ball titles? Maybe Ralph kramden could find the answers for the $99,000 question. Im sorry Mr Kramden it;s swani river.

  6. Johnny Ogelthorpe said

    February 2, 2009 @ 1:52 am

    Don Lerrman ate 22, 1/4 hot dogs at his last win in Saratoga park , he beat the best in 2000 to capture the matzah ball title, when he won the jalapenos , he beat Jed Donahues record of the previous year , jed never showed up that year and as for the cloud burger s , he competed
    4 times at 4 cloud burger contests in 3 days and won every contest , don’t belittle his greatness. who did George Washington beat to win the presidenty?

  7. Bartholomew Pratt said

    February 2, 2009 @ 3:53 am

    To the he reader, who did you ever beat in a contest ?what records in eating do you hold? none, that’s the answer,don’t knock one of the best eaters that ever walked this earth namely Don Moses Lerman

  8. On another note... said

    February 2, 2009 @ 6:53 am

    enough about retired people from last century….there should be a website devoted to their ramblings called “Oldfeats”.
    One of the best things about Koby having to qualify – other eaters finally get to compete and meet him, and vice versa. Sorry he has to pay for his trip over here, but, for the rest of the eating ham and eggers, the expense of traveling is just as difficult, even though the journey is shorter.
    Several eaters have been laid off, downsized, and had their household income massacred. Koby is in good financial shape, and unless you are the current champ, no “freebies” into the finals.

  9. Rhonda Evans said

    February 2, 2009 @ 7:50 am

    Moses, Cookie, KK, Badlands, Godfather, (BB in Pickles) and all the past champs and contest winners were champs nonetheless. No one has any control over the level of competition. A winner wins because he triumphs over the best of the day. They beat the best talent at the time (save superhuman Kobayashi).

  10. Rhonda Evans said

    February 2, 2009 @ 8:23 am

    Koby is in a class by himself, and deserves a lifetime bye.

    Were it not for the great one from Nagano, Japan, competitive eating as we know it today would not exist. His doubling of the 2000, 25 1/8-dog Nathan’s record to 50 HDBs in 2001 in his first attampt on the big stage sent Tsunami-like shock waves through the competitive eating world like no other performace before or since.

    How soon many people forget that. It’s all about what have you done for me lately.

    Well, as for me, the memories he implanted in my mind the past 8 years are perpetual, and that keeps my blood flowing!

    Takeru Kobayashi is the rock star of competitive eating. Most all of the others are mere cover bands.

    To put things in perspective, there are three CE T-shirts I’d wear: Koby’s Sonya’s and Badlands Booker’s.

  11. nathanbiller said (Registered January 29, 2007)

    February 2, 2009 @ 10:23 am

    Anyone who has ever won a contest should receive a lifetime bye to the finals of that contest.

  12. anonymous said

    February 2, 2009 @ 10:23 am

    I agree someone should start an oldfeats site devoted to the retired old farts from the IFOCE. They can bitch and complain all they want about who is the better eater from 2001

  13. beautifulbrian said

    February 2, 2009 @ 10:47 am

    It’s the old eaters that made the sport what it is today. I feel that all of them should still have some sort of active role in the sport and any elder statesmen eater that is still eating for the organization should be invited to all local events. I understand that there are limited amount of spots and most of them should be reserved for the big names of the sport but as a courtesy someone should do the right thing out of respect for an old timer that is still active. I remember back in 1997 when IFOCE was just getting its feet wet , George Shea was more than happy if he could just get bodies to eat at the table regardless of their talent.If you could eat 8 hot dogs you were considered a viable contender. 15 you were a first rate contender. 20 and above you were almost a god. There was a nathans contest in NJ back in 2000 when we literally had to wait almost an hour for a volunteer from the crowd to fill the table. The begging days are a thing of the past .

  14. Steakbellie said (Registered August 11, 2006)

    February 2, 2009 @ 11:19 am

    fairness would demand that Koby be required to qualify like everyone else. Reality is that the viewers of that event only care/know about Koby/Joey. If you want to land a National TV contract you MUST deliver Koby/Joey in the finals, and good for them that they can make a few bucks in the process.

    We here on Eatfeats know about the backstory of the rest of the field and how much they are investing/training/working to make it to Coney. We can appreciate the desire of eaters like Pat, Sonya, Bob & Tim but until they beat Joey in Dogs; the viewers demand Joey/Koby.

    A lifetime bye for any former champ isnt a bad idea.

  15. Anonymous said

    February 2, 2009 @ 11:24 am

    Lifetime? Maybe if you ONLY grandfathered back as far as Kobayashi. Otherwise you’d have a lot of guys wasting space on the stage.

  16. KevinRoss said

    February 2, 2009 @ 11:41 am

    All that making Kobayashi qualify would do is to take away a spot from another deserving good eater. . .Both Kobayashi and Joey deserve lifetime byes. . .What is a qualifier going to show that they haven’t already shown by the inhuman numbers they’ve put up? I think they’ve proven themselves and then some!

  17. mike landrich said (Registered July 4, 2007)

    February 2, 2009 @ 12:41 pm

    Kevin
    You are right, if they add a spot for Koby. If they just hold one less qualifier, then someone gets bumped regardless. Koby is a great eater, but should still have to qualify, since only the champ gets a bye. Bending the rules, even for Koby, is unfair. Of course, the rules can always be re-written and winners get a bye for a set number of years.

  18. get real said

    February 2, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

    Who cares if he qualifies or not? Is that all you are preoccupied with. Find a real hobby. Does Kobe give a rats ass about you? Does Kobe pay your rent? Think about it ok?

  19. KevinRoss said

    February 2, 2009 @ 1:09 pm

    Howdy Mike! Yeah, I understand what you mean since the amount of qualifiers is variable each year, it is hard to say if someone else is losing a spot exactly. It’s not secret I’m a fan of Koby’s, so I guess I don’t mind the rules being bent for him a little 🙂 I like the idea of a champ getting a bye for a set number of years. That way, it would be official and there would be a reasonable limit to it. Or maybe you get a bye if you’re the champ a certain amount of times in a row or something like this. Who knows, it’s not like it’s up to me anyway. . .I guess I just feel that Koby has so much to do with why eating became so popular. . .if anyone deserves unfair privileges, it would be him!

  20. Anonymous said

    February 2, 2009 @ 6:07 pm

    Koby = Carte Blanche.

  21. Johnny Ogelthorpe said

    February 2, 2009 @ 7:00 pm

    Are there any contests in Japan that eaters from the states receive special treatment.. none , the eaters in the U.S aren’t even invited to attend , let koby qualify like every other shmuck, ce does need any privileged characters.

  22. Anonymous said

    February 2, 2009 @ 8:13 pm

    Haven’t Lerman, Krazy Kev & Jarvis been replaced with the new, younger Three Amigos? Rise off into the sunset old men.

  23. mike landrich said (Registered July 4, 2007)

    February 3, 2009 @ 1:07 am

    The thing about Koby qualifying is…………he will win any contest he is in. If he has to qualify, its pretty much a formality. I really can’t see how he’d lose. I still think he should qualify though.

  24. I said

    February 3, 2009 @ 9:59 am

    koby had to qualify for krystals. it depends what the sponsor wants.

  25. Rhonda Evans said

    February 3, 2009 @ 10:21 am

    If I were Koby, and told I had to “qualify,” I’d take my show elsewhere, either without attempting to qualify or after I qualified eating something close to 60.

    Of course, being the good soldier Koby is, he’ll likely march to whatever drum beat the IFOCE plays, so I’m sure this is just needless conjecturing, so I’ll stop.

  26. anonymous said

    February 3, 2009 @ 6:50 pm

    The only comments on this site that are of any interest are the comments left by Lerman, Seiken & Jarvis or a few out of control rants by arnie chapman going under an alias . All the others put me to sleep. They are not only insignifigant but boring and of no interest to anyone with the exception of the person that posts it. Why doesnt OJ Rifkins next poll include this question? What does Sonya Thomas, Rifkin, Rhonda Evans and Hank all have in common. Roll that around your head for a little while

  27. Rock Hudson Jr said

    February 4, 2009 @ 8:38 am

    http://donmoseslerman.com/mosesnews/index.html Butiful Brian kissing Don Moses Lerman? OMG . At least Lerman sprays his breath with Binaca every 5 minutes. Seiken just wakes up in the morning and sprays nothing in his mouth

  28. LUCA BRAZI said

    February 4, 2009 @ 11:12 am

    Don Moses i want to thank you for inviting me to your daughters wedding and may your first kiss be a MASCULINE ONE!

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