reallygroovN
01-31-2004, 12:11 PM
ok, so we might not be in the superbowl. but at least we will always have wingbowl :D its philly done right!
http://www.realcities.com/images/philly/philly/7837/61421193395.jpg
http://www.realcities.com/images/philly/philly/7837/61421263928.jpg
A little woman shall lead them
'Black Widow' wins the guy-thing Wing Bowl.
By Dawn Fallik
Inquirer Staff Writer
There is no joy like that of a 99-pound woman who has just sucked down 167 chicken wings in 32 minutes while surrounded by mostly drunk men and barely clad strippers.
"I was so lucky to win by just two wings," said Sonya Thomas, the diminutive Virginia "Black Widow," who beat 409-pound Ed "Cookie" Jarvis of Long Island, N.Y., in a two-minute overtime yesterday for the fate of the world. Or, the world of Philadelphia Wing Bowl XII, at least.
The contest, sponsored annually by the WIP-AM (610) morning show, was sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating this year for the first time.
The crowd at the Wachovia Center, which had booed Thomas during her entrance, went crazy during the overtime. Crazy. Of course, it may have been the sight of a Wingette, one of the scantily clad Wing Bowl cheerleaders, flashing what the good Lord gave her. Or maybe it was the guy barfing on his seatmate in Section 125. (Note to Thomas: Next year, ask for Chick-N-Dales to go with the Wingettes.)
But so what? For three hours on a freezing Philadelphia morning, a 20,000-strong, mostly male crowd - including a Superman impersonator and someone in a Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man costume - was in arrested-development heaven. Where else can you find beer and hot dogs and Jon Bon Jovi at 6 a.m.?
"The wing contest is just secondary," according to Al, a Pennsylvania schoolteacher who asked that his last name be withheld because he took the day off. "It's about the pageantry."
Ah, yes. The pageantry. That would include eating the bad-for-you food while watching the born-to-be-bad girls. The randomly clothed included both paid performers - the Wingettes, mostly dancers hired from local gentlemen's clubs - as well as some constantly flashing audience participants, who were dubbed "the Drunkettes" by one heckler. There was even a trampoline-bouncing contest involving the Wingettes - singing the alphabet song and jumping - after the wing thing ended.
For those not interested in the flapping wings, flashing thighs and other enhanced parts, there was the "grown-men-crushing-beer-cans-on-their-foreheads-until-they-bled" contest (the Mize won, with a double-fisted strategy). The contestant-entry lap also offered diversions, thanks to Hank the Tank and Frank the Tank ramming their tanks into each other (Hank won).
Then there was the "throw-your-illegally-brought-in-beer-cans-at-the-contestant" game. This audience-participation event focused on one out-of-state eater, "Coon Dog," who started his entry lap by flashing signs with the Panthers-Eagles 14-3 score. OK, he deserved it. But then people started throwing beer at "Moses," otherwise known as Don Lerman of New York, dressed in biblical attire.
That's when stadium officials stopped contestants from walking around the track, except for retiring champ Bill Simmons, known as "El Wingador." His final foray into the wing ring was preceded by dimmed lights and what looked like a 100-person entourage, but he ended up finishing third with 151 wings.
Heck, you might say, after all this pre-wing chaos, how could the contest, well, contest?
With a two-minute overtime death-match, of course, the second since the Wing Bowl began 12 years ago. After two 14-minute rounds and a two-minute elimination round, Thomas and Jarvis faced off for a 2004 Suzuki Verona and poultry-besting bragging rights.
"They've moved to a place much closer to emotion now," said one commentator, as crowds of Wingettes and cameras huddled over the duo.
In the end, as with all poultry, it came down to parts. Thomas focused on the drumsticks, shoving in and stripping out in two easy-to-eat swoops.
As confetti and the chicken-decorated crown fell upon her face, the 36-year-old Thomas wiped off her ear-to-ear sauce and waved, purple eye shadow in place. After her victory, the professional eater added a strawberry shake and two diet sodas to the mix.
It was left to a Jersey boy to sum it all up.
"I'm experiencing the best of Philadelphia right here," Bon Jovi said.
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http://www.realcities.com/images/philly/philly/7837/61421193395.jpg
http://www.realcities.com/images/philly/philly/7837/61421263928.jpg
A little woman shall lead them
'Black Widow' wins the guy-thing Wing Bowl.
By Dawn Fallik
Inquirer Staff Writer
There is no joy like that of a 99-pound woman who has just sucked down 167 chicken wings in 32 minutes while surrounded by mostly drunk men and barely clad strippers.
"I was so lucky to win by just two wings," said Sonya Thomas, the diminutive Virginia "Black Widow," who beat 409-pound Ed "Cookie" Jarvis of Long Island, N.Y., in a two-minute overtime yesterday for the fate of the world. Or, the world of Philadelphia Wing Bowl XII, at least.
The contest, sponsored annually by the WIP-AM (610) morning show, was sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating this year for the first time.
The crowd at the Wachovia Center, which had booed Thomas during her entrance, went crazy during the overtime. Crazy. Of course, it may have been the sight of a Wingette, one of the scantily clad Wing Bowl cheerleaders, flashing what the good Lord gave her. Or maybe it was the guy barfing on his seatmate in Section 125. (Note to Thomas: Next year, ask for Chick-N-Dales to go with the Wingettes.)
But so what? For three hours on a freezing Philadelphia morning, a 20,000-strong, mostly male crowd - including a Superman impersonator and someone in a Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man costume - was in arrested-development heaven. Where else can you find beer and hot dogs and Jon Bon Jovi at 6 a.m.?
"The wing contest is just secondary," according to Al, a Pennsylvania schoolteacher who asked that his last name be withheld because he took the day off. "It's about the pageantry."
Ah, yes. The pageantry. That would include eating the bad-for-you food while watching the born-to-be-bad girls. The randomly clothed included both paid performers - the Wingettes, mostly dancers hired from local gentlemen's clubs - as well as some constantly flashing audience participants, who were dubbed "the Drunkettes" by one heckler. There was even a trampoline-bouncing contest involving the Wingettes - singing the alphabet song and jumping - after the wing thing ended.
For those not interested in the flapping wings, flashing thighs and other enhanced parts, there was the "grown-men-crushing-beer-cans-on-their-foreheads-until-they-bled" contest (the Mize won, with a double-fisted strategy). The contestant-entry lap also offered diversions, thanks to Hank the Tank and Frank the Tank ramming their tanks into each other (Hank won).
Then there was the "throw-your-illegally-brought-in-beer-cans-at-the-contestant" game. This audience-participation event focused on one out-of-state eater, "Coon Dog," who started his entry lap by flashing signs with the Panthers-Eagles 14-3 score. OK, he deserved it. But then people started throwing beer at "Moses," otherwise known as Don Lerman of New York, dressed in biblical attire.
That's when stadium officials stopped contestants from walking around the track, except for retiring champ Bill Simmons, known as "El Wingador." His final foray into the wing ring was preceded by dimmed lights and what looked like a 100-person entourage, but he ended up finishing third with 151 wings.
Heck, you might say, after all this pre-wing chaos, how could the contest, well, contest?
With a two-minute overtime death-match, of course, the second since the Wing Bowl began 12 years ago. After two 14-minute rounds and a two-minute elimination round, Thomas and Jarvis faced off for a 2004 Suzuki Verona and poultry-besting bragging rights.
"They've moved to a place much closer to emotion now," said one commentator, as crowds of Wingettes and cameras huddled over the duo.
In the end, as with all poultry, it came down to parts. Thomas focused on the drumsticks, shoving in and stripping out in two easy-to-eat swoops.
As confetti and the chicken-decorated crown fell upon her face, the 36-year-old Thomas wiped off her ear-to-ear sauce and waved, purple eye shadow in place. After her victory, the professional eater added a strawberry shake and two diet sodas to the mix.
It was left to a Jersey boy to sum it all up.
"I'm experiencing the best of Philadelphia right here," Bon Jovi said.
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