The Aspiring Writer Who Became an Eating-Contest Emcee

George Shea, the emcee for the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at Coney Island, on the Fourth of July, believes that there are two main reasons that more than two and a half million people tune in to watch the event on television each summer. The first is the appeal of the competitive eaters themselves, a group that includes such colorful characters as Matt Stonie—a.k.a. Megatoad—and eight-time champion Joey Chestnut. These men, Shea told me recently, “are heroes, and we are drawn to heroes.” The second reason, Shea said, is the emceeing. The television ratings of the program peak, he said, during the ten minutes that he delivers the eaters’ introductions—elaborate, allusion-filled litanies that he works on for months.