Things on Coney Island are about to get really hot, dog-wise. Those who follow competitive eating might know that every July 4th since 1972 crowds have gathered in the thousands to watch legends such as Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut scoff down unimaginable numbers of hot dogs in ten minutes at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. In fact, Joey Chestnut has managed to consistently win the competition with an average of over sixty hot dogs sixteen times—that is, until 2024, when Chestnut was banned from the competition and Pat Bertoletti managed to bag his first win with 58 hot dogs!

However, this year, Joey Chestnut is back, and Bertoletti will have to see if he can continue to stand out against the legend who is often called the best competitive eater in history! Though Bertoletti holds multiple records of his own for eating everything from blueberry pie to grits and corned beef and cabbage, Chestnut seems to have really mastered the Nathan’s game. So what are Bertoletti’s feelings as he heads into tomorrow’s competition?

Fox and Friends recently had Pat Bertoletti on air to ask him exactly that! “The big news last  year, aside from the win, was that Joey Chestnut wasn’t in the competition,” The Fox reporter said, alluding to Chestnut’s ban from the competition in 2024 due to a partnership with Impossible Foods, she went on, “He is in it this year. How do you feel about that?”

But Bertoletti kept his cool about him and replied with an optimistic, “You know it’s extra motivation and I’m good friends with Joey, so I’m just happy he’s back. I think everybody just loves to see him up there, and it did feel weird when he wasn’t there last year. It’s hard because you try to channel the energy around the crowd; there’s thousands of people there.” Bertoletti was underplaying it; the contest attracts about 40,000 people each year, however, he went on, “It’s just a great event and it’s gonna be I think, my tenth or eleventh time doing the event. I love Nathan’s,  I do genuinely love the flavor of the hot dogs. I mean, maybe I get tired of eating it for ten minutes, but if you gave me a hot dog right now, I would eat it in a heartbeat. I’m hungry, I’m anxious, I’m nervous, but i think I’m ready.” Well, if Bertoletti thinks he’s ready, then that could mean a really tight face-off tomorrow, because Joey Chestnut is probably more than ready, with one year of rest in as well!

What are the chances of one-time winner Pat Bertoletti beating sixteen-time champion Joey Chestnut at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest?

So Pat Bertoletti’s first win of the contest in 2024 was not independent of the fact that Joey Chestnut, who has previously won sixteen times, was unable to compete due to a ban. Chestnut, who started a partnership with a competing brand, i.e., Impossible Foods, got in hot water with Nathan’s and was banned from participating in last year’s competition, this year however, things seem to be settled and Chestnut is back! How might this pan out for the reigning champion, Pat Bertoletti, though?

Bertoletti, 40, has been a competitive eater from the age of 22, but he doesn’t specialize in hot dogs. He doesn’t seem to have a favorite specialty either, but he did compete in Nathan’s Hot Dog contest six times before famously winning the mustard belt last year. Though Bertoletti never managed to win the contest before 2024, he managed to come second in 2011 and third in 2009, 2010 and 2012. He came fifth in 2022 when he re-entered after a break, but 2024 was the winning year.

However, with Joey Chestnut back in the game and with a total of 76 hot dogs eaten in 2021, the chances for Bertoletti and his high of 58 hotdogs and buns in 2024 are looking slim. But you never know; a strong practice regimen and training routine could make all of the difference, after all, competitive hot dog eating is very much a sport and the more work put into the preparation, the more one will reap from the outcome!