Joey Chestnut. Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Joey Chestnut clarifies what happened with hot dog contest delay

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/5/23

It sounds like American icon Joey Chestnut did not, in fact, force the completion of the men's competition at the annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Tuesday afternoon.

"Honestly, it wasn't really me," Chestnut explained during a Wednesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," as shared by Matt Audilet of The Spun. "It was the crowd. The crowd wasn't leaving and the rain stopped. They were still chanting ... and the crowd was staying. They weren't going to leave. I was like, if they're out there cheering, I'm going to go out there and say hi to everybody ... The crowd pushed everyone into doing it."

Warning: Video contains some not-safe-for-work language

"The crowd wasn't leaving and the rain stopped..

I went out there to say hi and the crowd pushed everybody to put the contest back on" @joeyjaws #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/42zEXOe1Uz
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 5, 2023

Chestnut acknowledged shortly after his record-setting 16th career victory in the July 4 event that he and others were told the competition had been canceled due to the weather.

While the New York Post reported that contest officials initially informed members of the crowd that the New York City Police Department deemed the event "too much of a lightning risk" amid the summer storms, outlets such as Sports Illustrated shared a tweet from one individual who claimed Chestnut said that he was "gonna get the rest of the guys out, and we’re gonna do this f-----."

Eventually, ESPN2 resumed its coverage of the contest at 2 p.m. local time following a two-hour delay.

Even if it turns out Chestnut was not solely responsible for saving what's become an Independence Day tradition for viewers from around the country, that doesn't erase that he won the competition for the eighth straight year by finishing 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend," teaches an old saying, so it's understandable some will always choose to believe Chestnut essentially uncanceled this year's edition of the most famous event in all of competitive eating.

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