Hot dog! Big eats in Florida heat
Pablo Martinez swallowed 25 ½ hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes Saturday to earn a trip to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The road to Coney Island traveled through Southwest Florida for the first time, as eight eager eaters from throughout the country munched their way through meat and bread on an 81-degree afternoon.
How did this region get a qualifier? Ray Masciana owns Nathan’s Famous in Fort Myers, the first and only free-standing Nathan’s restaurant in Florida, and the event’s sponsor. The restaurant opened a year ago.
“Normally people have to go to Coney Island to see this,” he said. “We’re saving people the trip.”
Martinez, a Californian in Florida for the first time, held off Nathan Figueroa of Coconut Creek and Crazy Legs Conti of New York to return to the big stage after missing last summer’s signature event on its 100th anniversary.
“I think the heat took a toll, but I’m just happy I got the win,” said Martinez, who aimed to down 30 dogs. “I am so happy. I get to go back to Coney Island.”
Hundreds showed up for a free hot dog and to witness Saturday’s event — one of 17 qualifiers to occur across the country — where competitors ate atop a 5-foot-tall stage outside Germain Arena in Estero. “Who Let the Dogs Out” and other upbeat songs boomed from the speakers of a 96.9 WINK-FM DJ.
George Shea, master of ceremonies, is chairman of Major League Eating, an organization that sanctions professional competitive eating events. He’s been at every major eating competition in the past three decades, he said, and hosts the main event in July.
“You’ve got top eaters coming here from all over the nation,” he said before the event. “There’s such intensity to get to the Fourth. No surprise, everyone wants to come to Florida, so you get a better field.”
Shea stood out because he was the only one wearing a tie and blazer. In a polished way, he introduced the eaters and amped up the crowd, but like the best professional wrestlers he’s a character and a show unto himself. Paul Page, best known as the voice of the Indianapolis 500, provided a little assistance along the way.
Once the contest got going, Martinez kept his eyes closed and swiveled his hips at intervals, his hot-dog socks hidden from view.
“He’s not here with you and me,” Shea said. “He’s in a different place.”
Mary Bowers was the lone and therefore the top female eater, devouring 10 dogs and winning another trip to Coney Island.
Prior to the event she got accessorized under the sparse shade of a small tree in the parking lot. A hot dog (not a real one) adorned her hair, along with red, white and blue streamers. A sequined red skirt and a blingy hot dog clutch (a handbag), helped to complete the look, which she customizes for each contest.
Saturday’s conditions, she noted, were similar to what contestants can expect come July.
“This is really the test of how prepared we are for Coney Island,” she said.
One light-hearted moment occurred when Shea referred to Bowers’ clutch as a grip during the introduction. A smiling Bowers corrected him: “A grip is what I’ll be doing with the hot dogs, and chowing those down.”
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