January 30, 2004

Wing Bowl upset in Philadelphia: - 99-pound South Korean woman Sonya Thomas shocked the 22,000+ fans early this morning at the Wachovia Center, eating 167 chicken wings for the Wing Bowl XII crown. Thomas is the first woman in 12 years to win the event, beating out some men who were over five times her size.

posted by rosey8810 to culture at 10:00 AM - 10 comments

El Wingador is dead. Long live El Wingador.

posted by mbd1 at 10:04 AM on January 30, 2004

gross.

posted by jasonspaceman at 10:15 AM on January 30, 2004

oh my god. I was going to order chicken wings for dinner tonight. I'll pass. I think this sort of thing should be next for "Sport/Athlete or Not". And what is with these "undersized" Asian competitors who swoop in and beat the "oversized" Caucasian/African-Americans? Is it genetic? Is there a secret society of eaters in Asia? Have they developed some sort of "robo-belly" that can store/process food differently?

posted by grum@work at 10:37 AM on January 30, 2004

I can't speak about the chicken wing lady, but that hot dog guy seems to tackle it like a science.

posted by Ufez Jones at 10:56 AM on January 30, 2004

I was going to order chicken wings for dinner tonight. I better not click these links because my wife has already defrosted chicken (backs and necks, which for some odd reason she loves, not wings) for tonight's dinner. Sport/Athlete or Not: More of an art than a sport.

posted by billsaysthis at 11:02 AM on January 30, 2004

grum: And what is with these "undersized" Asian competitors who swoop in and beat the "oversized" Caucasian/African-Americans? I think it has more to do with the build than the race. I remember reading somewhere that skinny people have an advantage because their stomachs can expand more easily -- there's not so much fat to push against. Skinny people rule!

posted by worldcup2002 at 11:06 AM on January 30, 2004

billsaysthis: I love me some backs and necks.

posted by rocketman at 11:41 AM on January 30, 2004

Oh, of course it's a sport--as legit as car racing, but with more athleticism. I mean, Sonya Thomas has an actual training regimen: one giant meal and two hours on the treadmill a day. And I don't think it was an upset--she was actually a cofavorite with Wingador. That said, I doubt anybody really thought she would do it.

posted by Justin Slotman at 01:05 PM on January 30, 2004

Justin, you're right, she actually was 2-1 odds to win, but it's just amazing to see a 99-pound lady take out men over 400 pounds and more. Absolutely amazing. She and "pro-eater" Ed "Cookie" Jarvis went to OT with Thomas winning by two wings. I heard some of it on the radio on the way to work, and apparently in the two minute OT she saw Jarvis eating all wings and drumsticks and immediately went to taking out all the drumsticks first with some superfast method, allowing her to win the title. So for the record, that's 167 wings -- over eight pounds -- in 32 minutes. So not only can she put the food down quickly, she used more brainpower than any of those other guys (who knew you needed it to compete in one of these things!) By the way, there is video from the festivities at the site now. Pretty funny stuff. I went down once a few years ago -- it's worth checking out at least once in a lifetime live (I don't know if I'd go again though, something about the snooze alarm going off that early). It amazes me that a Sports Radio morning show/wing contest can fill over 20,000 people into the very same arena the Flyers and Sixers play in -- at 5:30 in the morning. Does that speak volumes in how starving this city is for a championship? (no pun intended)

posted by rosey8810 at 01:33 PM on January 30, 2004

Let's get this straight people: Sonya Thomas is an AMERICAN woman. She is NOT a "South Korean woman," a "Korean national," or a "foreigner."

posted by rhc10 at 03:08 PM on February 18, 2005

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