Big business on Wing Bowl day
The forecast calls for a snowstorm on Friday, but Shannon Niland-Carroll is hoping to see it rain — as in cash — all over South Philadelphia for 610 WIP’s Wing Bowl 18.
The annual eating competition, which sells out the Wachovia Center and features as much skin as a plastic surgeon’s office, is a major boon for gentleman’s clubs and neighborhood bars. Most run specials starting at 8 a.m. to suck in the crowd.
“Just being the after party for Wing Bowl is one of our most significant events of the year,” said Niland-Carroll, marketing director of Cheerleaders Gentleman’s Club, where adult film star Katie Morgan will greet customers. “We have a line before we open [at 8] ... and we’re actually sold out for bottle service.”
Like most events at the sports complex, the event also generates tailgating, meaning money for beer distributors as well.
“We kick off [promotion of] Wing Bowl the Monday after Thanksgiving, so for us it’s a little over a two-month marketing campaign with WIP,” said Jim Fris, of P.J. Whelihan’s Pub and Restaurant, which provides the chicken for the event. “We believe it generates a significant amount of business.”
Chickens can’t get no respect
Animal rights advocates gathered last summer to protest the Eagles signing Michael Vick, but don’t expect any angry mobs tomorrow outside Wing Bowl 18 advocating for chickens.
The event says a lot about our character and poor eating habits, according to LaSalle University’s John Hymers.
“Our reaction to abundance in terms of Wing Bowl is gluttony. It’s not a particularly ethical moment,” said Hymers, a philosophy professor, who insists the eating competition is barbaric. “I would expect more protests from people who thought through the connection of eating and beating.”
sleach@metro.us |