this isnt basketball. he's eating hotdogs. you concentrate on eating as many hotdogs as possible until the timer goes off.
When you eat that much pain is a huge factor and adrenaline can negate that. Seeing your competitor keep up or pull ahead is a huge motivating factor.
if you're a pro then it wouldn't matter so much. he went on record as saying he wanted to break the world record. in that case, he's racing the clock NOT the opponents. He knows Kobayashi is his only real competition. it makes no difference whether or not kobi was there. it was announced that he would be competing from elsewhere beforehand. chestnut: 62 kobayashi: 69 (world record)
I have to agree, I saw the video and it did not seem like Chestnut was slowing down cause he knew he had it in the bag.
LOL at everyone arguing whether it would make a difference if Kobahasbi was there or not. We won't know will we? Who cares.
If Chestnut could not find it in himself to compete enough without Kobayashi being there then that's his problem. Apparently Kobayashi didn't have that same mental problem. 69 and the World Record... scoreboard
Kobayashi was no elite eater. He is overrated cuz he's Asian and bring in Chinese money for the Rockets.
I know right, he literally has a glass jaw and is never healthy. lmfao @ those thinking he would come back as an elite eater again.
And how fair is it that Kobayashi could see what Chestnut was doing but Chestnut couldn't do the same? That's a huge factor. Chestnut won another belt and 10K in front of a national audience. Yeah I'll take that any day.
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I didn't watch the one yesterday, I'm a Kobayashi fan of sorts. He has interesting personality, and he's an attractive guy. Most of those guys in this contest look like slobs and douchebags, they are disgusting looking and acting Americans. How could anyone root for them?
So, let me get this straight: Kobiyashi wasn't at the competition, so there was no pressure - allowing him to break the world record (empty gym analogy - despite being recorded in front of a crowd) but, since he wasn't at the competition, Chestnut couldn't push himself (despite claiming he was attempting to break the world record). Makes sense, at least you guys have all the angles covered.