Wing Bowl 17 Primed Hits Philadelphia; Contestants Battle for 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman

Wing Bowl 17 is coming to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wing Bowl 17 will pit some of the best wing eaters in the world against each other to decide the 2009 Wing Bowl Champion. The competition will all come down to the final 27 contestants, all of which would love to own the title of Wing Bowl Champion, and who all bring their own unique eating styles to the competition. When Wing Bowl 17 gets underway on Friday morning, thousands of fans will get to watch as the new Wing Champion is crowned.

Wing Bowl 17 is set to take place at 5:30am on Friday, January 30th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The competition will take place at the Wachovia Center, where a sold out crowd will have the chance to watch a new competitor take over the title. This year's competition had a couple of rule changes, including limiting the field of competitors to only amateur contestants, allowing for there to be a changing of the guard in the title holder. According to the Wing Bowl web-site, only 3 different people had won over the past 8 years, and this was felt to be a good way to get some new blood into the battle.

The Wing Bowl is definitely a competition of over-eaters, and you have to be a fan of wings in order to get anything out of a competition like this. In the world of eating competitions though, it is quite serious business, with people competing who have trained on how to eat their wings the fastest, and seeing how many they can do in a specific period of time. It will be a challenge for new-comers to live up to the feats that have been accomplished in the past, and it will be interesting to see whether a brand new name can live up to the billing of Wing Bowl Champion.

The weigh-in for Wing Bowl 17 was set to take place at Chickie's & Pete's Crab House and Sports Bowl, with a grouping of each person's entourage and a revealing of the Wingettes for this years event. Chickie's & Pete's will also hold a post Wing Bowl party starting at 9am on Friday after the Wing Bowl champion has been crowned. The annual event is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the Philadelphia area, and is being watched by thousands. The contestants for this years events are an interesting lot (listed at the bottom with their nickname and qualifications) and it is anybody's guess who will come out on top this year.

Sources: Chickie's & Pete's Web-site and Wing Bowl Web-site

List of Wing Bowl Contestants:

• Chicken Caesar - Southampton, Pa. - 4 Pilgram Pubs in 15 minutes
• The Eating Machine - Palmyra, N.J. - Mayo
• Below Me - Woodbury, N.J. - 5 lbs. of bacon in eight minutes
• The Gavone - South Philadelphia - Ravioli
• Arson Arnie - Sewell, N.J. - 40 sausages
• Damaging Doug - Fishtown - 5 sliders in five minutes
• Super Squibb - Berlin, N.J. - cottage cheese
• Stormin Norman - South Philadelphia - 16-inch pizza in seven minutes
• Obi Wing - The Main Line - Fruit (while getting punched)
• CheeseCake BeefCake - Drexel Hill, Pa. - Cheesecake
• Acidic Jew - Bellmawr, N.J. - Play Sax: 10 lemons in four minutes
• Pot Pie the Sailor Man - Blackwood, N.J. - Chicken pot pie
• Glutieus Waximus - King of Prussia, Pa. - Five burgers in three minutes
• Nick Popagiorgio - Glassboro, N.J. - Wing Off 1 @ PJ's (46 wings)
• Cadillac Corrigan - Rockledge, Pa. - Wing Off 2 @ Paddy Whacks (56 wings)
• Tollman Joe - Bellmawr, N.J. - Only amateur to beat El Wingador
• Rick the Manager - Royersford, Pa. - Four feet of sushi
• The Caveman - Kutztown, Pa. - Wing Off 3 @ Slack's (54 wings)
• Baby Walley - Jenkintown, Pa. - 5 Wawa wraps in three minutes
• Frank De Fraud - Washington Twp., N.J. - Wing Off 4 @ PJ's (28 wings)
• Gentleman Jerry - Clifton Heights, PA - 6 Jelly Doughnuts in 2 minutes
• Dan the Prop - Lincoln University, PA - Wing Off 5 @ Barnabys (59 wings)
• Officer Beast - Philadelphia Police - Cop entry
• The Big Bambino - South Philadelphia - 24 raviolis in two minutes
• Da Disposal - Woolwich, N.J. - Wing Off 6 @ McStews (50 wings)
• Hank The Tank - Southwest Philly - Studio Wing Off (winner)
• Not Rich - Schwenksville, Pa. - Wing Off 7 @ Trappe (70 wings)