Around these parts, the Fourth of July isn’t what is what is usually is. Something about other colors besides red, white and blue have taken center stage, as HUFF POST’s reported earlier this week:
Multiple cities in Southern California have canceled or postponed Fourth of July celebrations over fears that ICE could target large public gatherings. Canceled or postponed events have been reported in cities including Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Cudahy, Bell Gardens and Whittier after local officials said residents raised concerns.
The ICE raids have left fear and anxiety in many Latinos living in the U.S. Immigrants — documented and undocumented — have said they don’t leave their homes because they are afraid of getting swept up in a raid. Hector Mata, a 22-year-old U.S. citizen, told The New York Times that he avoids taking the bus. “I’m brown and that’s all they need,” Mata said about federal agents.
Since my place of business these days is a Home Depot, while I’m not necessarily in one of these areas I see this drama being played out daily. I see the black cosplay outfits and tan masks. More importantly, I see how empty the parking lots and stores are getting. And since today is a mandatory work day for my company as a result of this downturn, I’m in anything but a celebratory mood.
And apparently neither are an awful lot of folks who would otherwise claim to be my friends, even though I physically haven’t seen many in decades. At some point today, perhaps with inappropriate pomp and circumstance but certainly a few self-congratulatory x-eets, the One Big Beautiful Bill is expected to become One Big Ugly Law. And based upon how they’ve insisted they cannot stay silent since “that’s NOT AN OPTION!!!!” I suspect there will be an awful lot of whining and lamenting how this Fourth of July is a de facto day of mourning. Not that most of them have a damn clue about any legitimate game plan or viable spokesperson to actually do anything about it, aside from perhaps yet another pep rally or empty protest. I can’t wait to be reminded about how cleansing and impactful they are. Yep, look at the teeming throng.
Even the usual appeal of July Fourth as a demarkation for the baseball season isn’t what it once was–assuming it even was true at all. That adage “The team that’s in first place on July 4th will win the pennant” is anything but true in this era, and was already being questioned as far back as 1963. In 2012 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Ted Keith penned a far deeper dive that statistically showed how in roughly four in ten case that wasn’t true. And since the de facto pennant winner is the team that actually plays in the World Series, since we moved to a three-team wild card half of the championships have been won by teams that weren’t even in first place on the LAST day of the season.
Ah, but we’re at least getting one positive tradition back today, courtesy of a guy who apparently missed the allure of real meat. BLEACHER REPORT’s Andrew Peters provided this encouraging news yesterday:
After a year away from the competition he’s become synonymous with, Joey Chestnut is back to compete in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Chestnut, who didn’t compete last year because of his deal to represent plant-based Impossible Foods, announced last month that he’d return to the competition. He’s thrilled to back doing what he does best. “Not competing on Fourth of July last year made me appreciate Fourth of July,” Chestnut told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap. “…I’m happy I’m back.” Before last year’s ban, Chestnut had won eight consecutive Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests. He’s won the competition a record 16 times in total and has the record for most hot dogs eaten with 76.
And as NBC NEW YORK’s Mike Gavin prognosticated, he’s got a score to settle:
Chestnut’s top opponent in 2025 will be the man who won the contest last year in his absence. Patrick Bertoletti returns to defend his throne after capturing the 2024 title by eating 58 hot dogs.
It’s at best a momentary distraction–the entire competition takes 10 minutes. But it’s a big enough deal such that, as Gavin reminds, (t)he men’s contest will air on ESPN2 at noon ET — with a dedicated “Joey Chestnut cam” airing as an alternate broadcast on ESPN3.
I’d suggest you watch. At least there’s a stronger likelihood you’ll watch someone else retch than experience that yourself–especially if you’re watching breaking news.
Courage…