The Wing Bowl, a pure celebration of gluttony, is one of the most popular eating contests in the country. When founded by local Philadelphia sports radio hosts in 1993, there were only 150 people in attendance. Now, in its 16th year, over 20,000 attend and the venue has grown from a local hotel to Philadelphia’s own Wachovia Center. The event began as a radio promotion on the Friday before the Super Bowl to see how many wings a group of chosen contestants could eat in 30 minutes. Now, on that same famous Friday, the event has grown to encompass television, the internet, and a contest for women who are termed “the Wingettes.”
Since 2007 Pat Croce has been the commissioner of this famous Philadelphia spectacle. As the commish, PC’s job is to watch over the contestants with an iron fist and make sure each chicken bone is completely cleaned; if there’s meat, there will be hell to pay. As they say on the adieus, “If you heave, you leave!” With 20,000 strong, at 6:00am in the morning, the Wachovia Center morphs into a giant bachelor party. The contestants, with names such as El Wingador and Heavy Kevy, are paraded around as if they were gladiators of ancient Rome preparing for their fate.
When Croce first signed onto the job his first implementation had to do with the form of entry into the event. Contestants could enter by two ways: perform a gross “eating stunt” on air during The Morning Show at the 610 WIP studios (i.e. 53 hard boiled eggs in 5 min) or win the “Wing V” wing off where five contestants eat as many wings in 2 minutes. In 2008, the Champion, Joey Chestnut, again crossed the finish line first by eating 241 wings in 30 minutes.
Only in Philadelphia!!
RedLasso Clips:
Pat Croce's take on the Wing Bowl
The Wing Bowl
“A Wingette contestant.”
“The commissioner discusses a disqualification.”
“The commissioner takes time to take photos with some Wingettes.”
“The legendary El Wingador.”
“A trophy like no other.”
“A group of Wingettes cheer for their favorite contestants.”
“A few of the 20,000 fans get into the action.”
“610 WIP’s Angelo Cataldi and Pat Croce before the big event.”
“A contestant gets paraded around before the event.”
“A Wingette delivers wings to one of the contestants.”
“610 WIP’s Rhea Hughes checks on the eater’s progress.”
