2012 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Live Online & TV Preview

The 2012 Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest is just days away!  Fans who want to see this latest competitive eating extravaganza will be able to watch it live streaming online, or on their television right on the Fourth of July!  Here at Sports Ticket Soup we’ve got the full “scoop” on the hot dog eating event for this year!

Each year on the 4th of July, the world focuses on Coney Island, New York for the amazing Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Contest. The competition attracts thousands of hot dog eating contestants from the entire United States and for the few who make it to the final showdown; they get a chance to become Kobe Bryant and Tyson Gay of competitive eating. They don’t compete for free; the men and women champions are awarded $ 20,000 each. Not bad for eating all those hot dogs, right?

Updated 7/4/12 1PM EST: Congratulations to Joey Chestnut who downed 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his sixth straight Hot Dog Eating Contest for the men!  Also congratulations to Sonya Thomas, the women’s champion, who set a new personal world record of 45 hot dogs consumed!

The qualifying tour starts every year across different cities in the U.S.A and beyond. It all began in Michigan on the 21st of April for this year and now the ultimate showdown is on the 4th of July 2012 at the Nathan’s Famous flagship in Coney Island, NY.  The event has become a major attraction too.

The annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog contest draws tens of thousand of spectators who travel from far and wide to come and cheer these amazing athletes. A group of twenty steely eyed contenders line up behind a forty foot table to commence a full twelve minutes contest and 2012 hot dog competition will not be any different! If one can’t find joy from this amazing competition, he has gotten it wrong.

2012 Nathan’s Hot Dog Television & Live Stream Schedule:

7/04 11:25 AM EDT 2012 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Women’s Championship (ESPN, ESPN3)
7/04 12:00 PM EDT 2012 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Men’s Championship (ESPN, ESPN3)

The ESPN network will provide the television coverage for the hot dog contest on the 4th of July starting at 3PM. The main objective is to include you among tens of millions of home viewers around America. When ESPN cameras turn on, they bring the taste of the city of Coney Island right to your home and make viewers feel like they’re among the athletes.  For those who don’t have television access for the event, don’t worry, as it will also be live streaming online.  That will be presented by ESPN’s broadband sports network, ESPN3/WatchESPN.

The reigning champion is Joey Chestnut.  Last year’s competition was amazing for Chestnut as he ate 68 Nathans Famous hot dogs and buns in ten minutes! This year he will be looking to for his sixth consecutive titles to join Kobayashi who holds that record now.  While all of the contestants have yet to be named as of this report, one regular will be back to challenge Chestnut.  Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti has become a regular and fan favorite who will attempt to dethrone Chestnut as the reigning champ.

In the women’s category, Sonya Thomas will defend her title that she won last year after consuming forty hot dogs and buns in only ten minutes. This year’s competition is unpredictable and only time will tell who is able to eat the most hot dogs in the alloted time.
Latest odds from Predictem.com for the Hot Dog Eating Contest:

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest – Odds to Win

Joey Chestnut -800
The Field +500

Total Hot Dogs Eaten by Joey Chestnut

Over/Under 62.5

Total Hot Dogs Eaten by Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti

Over/Under 53.5

Total Hot Dog’s Eaten by Sonya Thomas

Over/Under 40.5

2012 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest – Margin of Victory

Over/Under 10.5

As mentioned above, the field hasn’t been fully announced just yet, but this could be another entertaining edition of the annual event.  It’s as patriotic as fireworks and Uncle Sam folks, the 2012 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is a great way to kick off your July 4th festivities!

More info from the official Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Contest website here!

More info on how to watch Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest online via WatchESPN here.