We now take a break from beautiful things and focus on the enrapturingly grotesque: the world of Major League Eating. Both repulsive yet fascinating, bearing the qualities of postmodern, Damien Hirst-type art.
This is yet another reason why we should all start reading Bloomberg Businessweek, people.
We can frown upon it, judging these contestants and event organizers who waste exorbitant amounts of food each year in what seems to be childish fantasies come true, but truth of the matter is, MLE has become a significant business...
"ESPN pays the MLE an undisclosed amount for hte exclusive rights to broadcast the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Deating Contest live. Last year the event drew 1.7mil viewers, with advertising equivalency estimated by the MLE at $300mil."
(Personal respect for ESPN: -5 , Rep amongst the bros: ~ +100)
"Last July, P&G's Pepto-Bismol paid Joey Chestnut, the LeBron James of hot dog eating, more than $100,000 to endorse its product...that month Pepto say double-digit increases in sales, and the brand's Facebook page ended up acquiring 40,000 new fans."
(Glad more people have soothed bowels now; thank you, Joey!)
-Also of note...
--Jim Reeves, a high school math teacher from upstate New York, participated in the Ohio Harrod Pork Rind Heritage Festival eating contest. He won by consuming 11.32oz of fried pork skin.
I am sure this will give him leverage in his next job app.
Likely scenario:
"So you have good references from your last station teaching AP Calculus, but this acronym, 'PRECW,' what does this mean?"
"Oh it's nothing, other than the fact that I am the Pork Rind Eating Champion of the World."
So is MLE more of a sport than golf?
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