Eating champ Joey Chestnut and the Notorious B.O.B. consume ‘Land of 10,000 Calories’ in just under 29 minutes

Two competitive eaters — one of them said to be the greatest of all time — consumed a 10,000-calorie mountain of heartburn Friday night in 28 minutes and 48 seconds, in front of a St. Paul Saints crowd cheering them on.

The man they came to see was international competitive eating champ Joey Chestnut of Indiana, who before Friday night had scored just one victory in Minnesota — a cow brain taco contest that he didn’t enjoy.

The other was Bob Shoudt, aka the Notorious B.O.B., who along with Chestnut conquered six foot-long hot dogs laid end to end and dubbed “The Land of 10,000 Calories.” The pair started eight minutes after the first pitch at CHS Field and ended before the Saints made it to the third inning.

The six dogs together constituted a 6-foot-long tube steak piled high with pulled pork, mac and cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce, French fries and jalapeño poppers, stretched across a folding table on a stage above the ballpark’s left field. Each man had five cups of water to wash it all down.

Half the crowd left their seats during the game to move closer to the stage, many of them wearing Saints-branded hot dog hats. Those in the VIP section paid $75 to get up close to the action and a foot-long dog of their own to chew on. They witnessed an exhibition of two men’s untamed power over the human digestive system.

Sara Grimaldi has watched a lot of eating challenges online, but never one in person. “It’s cool to see it in front of your face,” she said.

Grimaldi was interrupted by chants of “Joey! Joey!” as Chestnut shoveled his second dog into his mouth, his face clenching as if he were setting a personal record in Olympic weight lifting. He finished off about two-thirds of the 6-foot-long feast.

Though he competes in an unconventional sport, Chestnut is a professional athlete in every sense of the word. He trains for two months before the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y., where an estimated 40,000 fans came to see him win his 17th title on July 4.

“It took me a little bit longer than I thought it would. My technique was a little bit messy,” he said after the event as he bumped fists with fans and took selfies.

But for Chestnut, who had suffered two previous losses in Minnesota, Friday proved to be a night of redemption. “This is awesome!” he said.