The Fourth of July used to be known as a time when 40-year-old dudes with mullets and a cooler full of Natural Light head out to the Indian reservations in their 1979 Ford F-150s and spend their hard-earned money on M-80s and Saturn Missile Batteries.

Because nothing says Independence Day like filling a tennis ball with gunpowder and using it to blow up a stump. I’m sure that’s exactly what George Washington and the other founders of our country had in mind when they inked the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

But the fireworks are now just the opening act for the real celebration on our nation’s birthday — the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y.

What’s more American than gluttony and over-eating?

This year marked the 94th time the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has taken place. Legend has it, the contest began in 1916, when four immigrants had a dog-off at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic. Neer Sehgal won that bout, eating 13 dogs in 10 minutes.

Oh, how times have changed.

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is even now a mainstream sport, mainly because the event is televised on ESPN. Everything televised on ESPN is a sport, isn’t it?

Much like the endless hours of poker and live coverage of the National Spelling Bee. When I think of an athlete, my mind goes right to a guy who can sit in a chair for eight-straight hours in sunglasses or a 12-year-old kid who can spell “Laodicean.”

But last Saturday, the “wiener” of the sought-after Mustard Belt was American Joey Chestnut, who choked down an unbelievable 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes — a new world record. Some 40,000 spectators turned out to the watch the competition and Chestnut took home $20,000 in prize money.

“I’ve been practicing hard,” Chestnut, 25, told the New York Daily News after the competition. “I knew it would be hard to beat me.”

Chestnut outdistanced his biggest rival, Takeru Kobayashi, for the third year in a row. Kobayashi, who has won the Mustard Belt a record six times, finished with 64 hot dogs and buns.

“I wish I could have done better,” Kobayashi said. “It was a real bummer that I lost.”

There was never a doubt in Chestnut’s mind that he was going to win last weekend, especially after digesting 23 hot dogs and buns in the first two minutes of the competition.

“After the second minute I knew my body was cooperating,” Chestnut said. “It was such a good day. I’ve never eaten that many before.”

Actually nobody has.

I’m pretty sure that the 12 hours following the competition weren’t “such a good day” for Chestnut. That’s what I want to see ESPN televise. I want “A Day in the Life of Joey Chestnut” show that follows his every move after the 10-minute eating frenzy concludes.

What happens to the 68 hot dogs and buns and how many novels is Chestnut able to read in the bathroom? I would imagine he could finish the entire Harry Potter series while trying to get his body right.

I haven’t eaten 68 hot dogs in my life. A hot dog is much like a donut: It looks super good when you are hungry while watching a baseball game or playing a round of golf, but after you digest the first one, you can’t eat anymore because the second one just looks grotesque.

Somehow, Chestnut is able to fight through the pain, mainly because of his rugged training regimen.

As practice, Chestnut stretches his stomach with milk, water and protein supplements. Before contests, he drinks as much milk and water as he can in under a minute to get his stomach accustomed to holding that much food.

LeBron, are you listening?

But hot dogs aren’t the only world record Chestnut currently holds in the competitive eating world.

He has also digested 10.5 pounds of macaroni and cheese in seven minutes, 18.5 waffles in 10 minutes, 118 jalapeno poppers in 10 minutes, 9.8 pounds of pork ribs in 12 minutes, 45 pulled pork sandwiches in 10 minutes, 103 hamburgers in 8 minutes and finished the 8,000-calorie Quadruple Bypass Burger in less than 2 minutes.

Before he had time to even digest his win, or undigest it in the bathroom, Chestnut said he thinks he can improve his record next year and hit the unbelievable 70-dog mark.

Good luck. I can’t wait to watch next Fourth of July.