More Reasons to Hate Competitve Eating: No Vuvuzelas Allowed

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What you won't see at this weekend's hot dog-eating contest.

​Longtime readers know that Gut Check feels nothing but spite toward competitive eating, but this story we could not ignore.

From the blog BK Southie, via Eater, comes shocking news about this weekend's annual Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. No, not that former champ and perennial contender Takeru Kobayashi is missing this year's battle.

The truly shocking news is that spectators won't be allowed to bring vuvuzelas to the event.

From the official Major League Eating (seriously) press release:

"We refuse to let vuvuzela use damage the competitive eating aesthetic," said Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating, the governing body of all stomach centric sport worldwide. "As a result, these horns will be prohibited at the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on July Fourth."

Well, of course, the flatulent trumpeting of a cheap plastic horn would demean the spectacle of grown men and women shoving hot dog after hot dog down their gullets while showering their adoring (vuvuzela-less) fans with half-chewed bits of meat and bun.

What's that you say? This is just a ploy by Major League Eating (seriously) to garner press attention by piggybacking onto one of the summer's hottest stories? How did you ever get so cynical?

At any rate, are you planning to attend the contest and still want to mimic the joyous hum of the World Cup? Let's just say there's an app for that.