if i had to choose the three greatest american sports figures of the twentieth century, mr. jesse owens, mr. george herman “babe” ruth. jr. & mr. jackie robinson would be the three. jesse owens’ four gold medal achievement at the berlin olympics in front of adolf hitler esd his signature moment. not only was he considered the greatest track athlete of his time, he transcended sports in a troubling time. babe ruth’s dominance in baseball was with him hitting “home runs.” while he was an outstanding pitcher, he became the leagues greatest power hitter. he was so well regarded that “ruthian” became a word in the english language. mr. jack roosevelt “jackie” robinson’s color barrier in professional baseball achievement is considered as one of the most import civil rights events in the united states. making this accomplishment more remarkable is the fact that baseball was mr. robinson’s worst college sport. he was a record setting multi-sport talent. at ucla, he excelled in football, basketball & track.
the twenty first century’s “babe ruth” like figure that has perhaps emerged. competitive eater mr. joey chestnut once again laid vanquish to all competitors in the nathan’s 2022, 4th of july international hot dog eating contest. hobbled by a severe leg injury, mr. chestnut stepped up to the plate and once again consumed mass quantities. not only did he compete injured, he literally had to fight off darth vader in the win as well. during the contest, a protestor dressed in a darth vader mask took the stage. mr. chestnut, mid-eating took time to subdue the individual. despite the interruption, he won again in a blow out. if one doubts mr. chestnut’s greatness, they only need to look las vegas’ betting odds on the event. one would have to wager $3000.00, to win $100.00, if they were betting on mr. chestnut. cbssports.com in other words, he was considered a total lock to win his 15th mustard colored title belt.
for approximately 65 percent of this century to date, mr. chestnut has been the top hot dog eating competitor. the term hdpm, “hot dogs per minute,” is seeping into popular culture. looking back, it is quite possible that america is witnessing in real time their greatest competitive eater of all time. with 15 dominant wins of the mustard belt, one could say that mr. chestnut’s accomplishment is quite “ruthian” indeed.
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