Lane Kiffin does jersey swap with Joey Chestnut after Ole Miss spring game
Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels had a ton of fun during their spring game over the weekend, and not just because of the product on the field.
The Rebels decided to bring Joey Chestnut to Oxford for an appearance, as he participated in a hot dog eating competition with the team over the weekend. No, it wasn’t the Fourth of July, but it might have well have been for the Rebels.
During the contest, Chestnut even let the other participants have a head start on him, but it ultimately didn’t matter for the world record holder. He breezed through 20 hot dogs to help the Blue team to a victory over the Red team, with the next closest person eating only eight hot dogs.
Afterwards, Kiffin and Chestnut participated in an old fashioned jersey swap, with Kiffin gifting Chestnut a customized Ole Miss jersey, while Chestnut gave the Rebels leader his Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest garb.
“Great job today @joeyjaws,” Kiffin posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding Chestnut’s victory during an eating contest at Ole Miss’ spring game, accompanying the jersey-swap photo. “Comeback victory.”
All in all, the hot dog eating competition and jersey swap was just one of several creative ways that Ole Miss spiced up the Grove Bowl. The Rebels also held a slam dunk contest, tug-o-war and a 7-on-7 flag football game.
Overall, it was a highly entertaining afternoon and certainly a refreshing new spin on the typical spring game. It will be interesting to see if any other teams follow suit in the coming years, but Joey Chestnut’s appearance fee may rise.
Kiffin was even able to get a motivational quote regarding Chestnut out of the afternoon, telling his team that it took time for Chestnut to hone his craft.
“I’ve met with him before,” Kiffin said of Chestnut. “For everybody out there, don’t quit the first time. Joey lost his first eating competition. He lost a lobster competition and stayed with it. So like Michael Jordan didn’t make varsity and he got cut, Joey Chestnut lost the eating competition.”
While the Rebels are coming off of an 11-2 season that saw them win more games than they have in any other season in program history, a national title is on their minds. Perhaps Joey Chestnut will help Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss get over the hump in 2024.