Assuming I get up early (or stay up all night), that is... Wing Bowl! I got two tickets in a giveaway at the Forman Mills store the other day. If anyone local is weird enough to go to the Wachovia Center early in the morning on Friday with about 20,000 crazy people, you're welcome to the extra ticket.
[ February 01, 2006, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]
Full Version: I'm going to the local event of the year!
Mmmmm, that sounds like a good time. Probably not a healthy one, but hey, we all have to go sometime. 
I'm not the one who'll be forcing wings down my throat non-stop. I'll just be watching. wink
QUOTE
Joe in Philly:
I'm not the one who'll be forcing wings down my throat non-stop. I'll just be watching. wink
Whaaaaaa?!I'm not the one who'll be forcing wings down my throat non-stop. I'll just be watching. wink
Oh... I misread.
I thought you posted about 'forcing things down your throat non-stop,' and I thought JiP--you naughty boy! wink
Now, did I say anything about milking stations??? eek!
The Phila. Inquirer actually had an editorial about the Wing Bowl today...
Owing to the "Wingettes" who paraded around with the contestants, the crowd was overwhelmingly male. Fair number of younger guys, college age and a little older. One guy in the next section a few rows down was kind enough to stand up periodically so I could check him out -- he was positively stinger-esque.
And, naturally, there was a group of dancers from a "gentleman's club" in the stands and they flashed the crowd periodically. This may be why they haven't actually televised this live yet.
So while there was lots of testosterone, it wasn't quite as rowdy as I expected. The doors opened at 5 but they only sold beer between 7 and 8:30. There were tailgaters though, despite the rain and despite the fact that only ticketholders were allowed into the parking lots. Security was doing pat-downs outside, and no outside food or beverages were allowed in. They even banned umbrellas, which made me glad I didn't bring one. They had barricades funnelling people through the security stops -- first to show your tickets, then for the pat-down search, then finally to go inside -- they've never used this at any Flyers game I've been to, not even in the playoffs.
The most amusing bits I saw during each contestant's procession into the arena (many on floats, with their entourages and assigned Wingettes walking along, some people holding signs or props) -- involved a couple of shots at Terrell Owens. One guy in a T.O. shirt was being constantly pummelled, thrown to the floor, smacked around with a wooden plank (fake violence); in another group there was a faux-T.O. being walked with a leash/harness-like contraption by a faux-Drew Rosenhaus. (None other than the Phillie Phanatic also made the rounds, with his air-gun firing t-shirts into the stands.)
On the video board, during the eating, they kept showing a clip from a previous year where a guy vomited a great deal (thus invoking the famous "if you heave, you LEAVE" rule) -- they showed this clip about a dozen times. Sometimes in slow motion. Sometimes in reverse. Okay, it was amusing the first time but over and over? Eventually one or two of today's competitors suffered a similar fate. The crowd loves this stuff.
While it was interesting to finally see this spectacle in person, it was also difficult to hear what was going on at times. Some of the people who were on the air didn't talk very loud into the microphones, or the mics didn't work well, and at times the crowd was cheering something on the video or the latest flash of surgically-enhanced breast. So at times some of the commentary was impossible to follow. Now that I've done it once, I don't know if I have to do it again -- unless I were to get a close-up view or even get onto the floor somehow.
This might have been the oddest thing for me the whole morning: they had a guy sing the national anthem just before they started the contest, and there were so many people singing along. More people in this crowd sang the anthem than I have ever seen at any sporting event I have been to in my entire life. (I would imagine much of the crowd sings it at the Army-Navy game but when Ted P. and I went last year, we didn't get into the stadium until after the anthem was finished, so I don't know for sure.)
QUOTE
Wing Bowl's Span
A saucy Philadelphia tradition
This is how big Wing Bowl has become: Some folks actually worry that Philadelphia's mid-winter bacchanalia has strayed from its roots.
When the WIP-sponsored event began at a hotel 14 years ago, attendance was free, and 150 people showed up. A ticket to today's Wing Bowl 14 cost $5, and the show had sold out the Wachovia Center before the gates opened early this morning. In years past, some people waited in line all night to get in.
The annual chicken-wing eating contest has spawned a line of apparel and a documentary. A feature movie is in the works. What's next? Pay per view?
This year's event was billed as the \"virgin\" Wing Bowl because no past contestants were allowed to compete. That was a response to the dominance of Bill \"El Wingador\" Simmons, who won his fifth title last year (and has his own sauce). If you're glad about this for the sake of El Wingador's LDL levels, you are missing the point. The point is that organizers put thought into making this latest Wing Bowl more fair, more populist. Some people care so much about Wing Bowl that they are still trying to perfect it.
The Wing Bowl phenomenon distresses many people who never ventured into the 700 level at the old Vet. They vent about why the Wing Bowl has become so popular, and what it says about Philadelphia. That ship has sailed. Let us accept Wingus Maximus for what it is - gluttony, revelry, camaraderie and carnality, served up as working-class camp.
I must say, it was surreal to be inside the Wachovia Center at 6 in the morning with somewhat less than 20,000 people. They may have sold out but there were a number of empty seats, especially in the upper level where all the tickets were general-admission. So I was quite happy. I went to a row near the top where there were plenty of seats, and though it filled up somewhat I had plenty of room to stretch in all directions.A saucy Philadelphia tradition
This is how big Wing Bowl has become: Some folks actually worry that Philadelphia's mid-winter bacchanalia has strayed from its roots.
When the WIP-sponsored event began at a hotel 14 years ago, attendance was free, and 150 people showed up. A ticket to today's Wing Bowl 14 cost $5, and the show had sold out the Wachovia Center before the gates opened early this morning. In years past, some people waited in line all night to get in.
The annual chicken-wing eating contest has spawned a line of apparel and a documentary. A feature movie is in the works. What's next? Pay per view?
This year's event was billed as the \"virgin\" Wing Bowl because no past contestants were allowed to compete. That was a response to the dominance of Bill \"El Wingador\" Simmons, who won his fifth title last year (and has his own sauce). If you're glad about this for the sake of El Wingador's LDL levels, you are missing the point. The point is that organizers put thought into making this latest Wing Bowl more fair, more populist. Some people care so much about Wing Bowl that they are still trying to perfect it.
The Wing Bowl phenomenon distresses many people who never ventured into the 700 level at the old Vet. They vent about why the Wing Bowl has become so popular, and what it says about Philadelphia. That ship has sailed. Let us accept Wingus Maximus for what it is - gluttony, revelry, camaraderie and carnality, served up as working-class camp.
Owing to the "Wingettes" who paraded around with the contestants, the crowd was overwhelmingly male. Fair number of younger guys, college age and a little older. One guy in the next section a few rows down was kind enough to stand up periodically so I could check him out -- he was positively stinger-esque.
And, naturally, there was a group of dancers from a "gentleman's club" in the stands and they flashed the crowd periodically. This may be why they haven't actually televised this live yet.
So while there was lots of testosterone, it wasn't quite as rowdy as I expected. The doors opened at 5 but they only sold beer between 7 and 8:30. There were tailgaters though, despite the rain and despite the fact that only ticketholders were allowed into the parking lots. Security was doing pat-downs outside, and no outside food or beverages were allowed in. They even banned umbrellas, which made me glad I didn't bring one. They had barricades funnelling people through the security stops -- first to show your tickets, then for the pat-down search, then finally to go inside -- they've never used this at any Flyers game I've been to, not even in the playoffs.
The most amusing bits I saw during each contestant's procession into the arena (many on floats, with their entourages and assigned Wingettes walking along, some people holding signs or props) -- involved a couple of shots at Terrell Owens. One guy in a T.O. shirt was being constantly pummelled, thrown to the floor, smacked around with a wooden plank (fake violence); in another group there was a faux-T.O. being walked with a leash/harness-like contraption by a faux-Drew Rosenhaus. (None other than the Phillie Phanatic also made the rounds, with his air-gun firing t-shirts into the stands.)
On the video board, during the eating, they kept showing a clip from a previous year where a guy vomited a great deal (thus invoking the famous "if you heave, you LEAVE" rule) -- they showed this clip about a dozen times. Sometimes in slow motion. Sometimes in reverse. Okay, it was amusing the first time but over and over? Eventually one or two of today's competitors suffered a similar fate. The crowd loves this stuff.
While it was interesting to finally see this spectacle in person, it was also difficult to hear what was going on at times. Some of the people who were on the air didn't talk very loud into the microphones, or the mics didn't work well, and at times the crowd was cheering something on the video or the latest flash of surgically-enhanced breast. So at times some of the commentary was impossible to follow. Now that I've done it once, I don't know if I have to do it again -- unless I were to get a close-up view or even get onto the floor somehow.
This might have been the oddest thing for me the whole morning: they had a guy sing the national anthem just before they started the contest, and there were so many people singing along. More people in this crowd sang the anthem than I have ever seen at any sporting event I have been to in my entire life. (I would imagine much of the crowd sings it at the Army-Navy game but when Ted P. and I went last year, we didn't get into the stadium until after the anthem was finished, so I don't know for sure.)
Gee, blame me for being late.
Just you wait until the next game. I embarrass people with my rendition of "O Canada," Montreal-style - where you switch languages midstream. Oh, I'm not at all bad. Perhaps a little loud.
Just you wait until the next game. I embarrass people with my rendition of "O Canada," Montreal-style - where you switch languages midstream. Oh, I'm not at all bad. Perhaps a little loud.
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