As I write this, the 2001 Glutton Bowl is on the Fox Sports channel, with contestants vying to eat as much as possible of hot dogs (25), hamburgers (11), whole beef tongues (1.5), mayonnaise (128 fl oz), or whatever in a limited time. The Weekly Standard has a piece on the event and other forms of competitive eating.
Each competitor is introduced with some fact about their background; my favorite was the guy who had been banned from an all-you-can-eat shrimp restaurant.