Ah, competitive eating, the only sport where gluttony and overindulgence are signs of a professional athlete in training.

For the uninitiated, the most popular event in the sport takes place on the Fourth of July: the Nathans Hot Dog Eating contest. It’s the World Cup of competitive eating as the yearly tradition typically boils down to the same two men jockeying for position: the United States’s reigning champion, Joey Chestnut, and Japan’s legendary bottomless stomach, Takeru Kobayashi.

This year, however, a contract dispute may keep Kobayashi from competing, effectively ruining the Fourth of July for devout fans of the sport.

ESPN reports,

But [Kobayashi’s] chances of getting revenge this weekend against Chestnut, from San Jose, Calif., seem slim because of a contract dispute with the event's organizer. Kobayashi, 32, has balked at signing an exclusivity clause with the group and can't compete unless he does.

With only two days remaining, time is running out for event organizers to strike a deal with Kobayashi.

Hopefully, they do; otherwise, this Fourth of July will officially be cancelled, and millions of Americans will be stuck socializing with their relatives during the family barbeque.

Oh, the humanity…