I know I'm about a day late with the following rant, but I feel I must say this: Competitive eating is NOT a sport.

Every year on July 4th, ESPN televises the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest as we watch people engorge themselves with hot dogs. Why do people enjoy seeing this?

I'm not entertained by watching people eat hot dogs, if I were I'd just sit outside at my barbecue. I just find the whole thing boring and uninteresting, I'd rather watch Justin Bieber try to belt out some Arcade Fire tunes. Sure it would be horrendous, but at least there is something somewhat interesting.

I find it ironic that in New York, Mayor Bloomberg is trying to make the city healthier but goes to and promotes the hot dog eating contest. Eating 60 hot dogs in any amount of time, let alone 10 minutes, is not healthy. We celebrate gluttony in a world where childhood obesity is an ongoing problem. America needs to fix this, but glorifying these eaters doesn't help anything. In fact, its making it worse, much, much worse.

America promotes and encourages this "sport" by televising it and making it a spectacle, but people in other countries are starving while these "athletes" stuff their faces with hot dogs, wings, and pizza. It really makes us look horrible.

Also, how could anything we do everyday be a sport? We eat everyday to survive, to nourish our bodies, not to see how much we can eat and how fast we can do it in. Football players, hockey players, baseball, etc., those are athletes. It takes actual skill and hard work to become one.

I know I'm on a rant, but I really think people should second think watching a competitive eating event and realize, "Why?"