The new kings of wings
Winning team topples 6-time champ in annual contest at Cumru bar
Easterseals Eastern Pennsylvania’s wing-eating competition may be fun and friendly, but make no mistake — March 1’s contest was fierce. And hot. “To be the best, you have to beat the best,” said Trevor Glass, captain of the Wing-Eating Vikings.
The team was one of 40 that competed in the 28th annual contest at the California Bar & Grill in Cumru Township.
Proceeds provide camper scholarships to Easterseals’ Camp Lily in Lower Alsace Township. The six-week summer camp atop Mount Penn offers recreational activities for children with disabilities.
When the bones were counted, the Vikings triumphed over their arch-rival and previous title-holders, the Pink Flamingos, winning first place in the suicide division, the hottest of the three levels.
One of three teams sponsored by Glass & Sons Collision of Reading, the Vikings went head-tohead with the six-time champion Pink Flamingos in the 10th and final round. The Vikings wolfed down 119 of the spicy chicken parts in four minutes, trumping the Flamingos’ 87.
Before the competition got underway, the Vikings, unmistakable in homemade fake furs and faux-leather vests, were seen fraternizing over beers with members of the pinstriped-shirt-wearing
Flamingos.
Glass, 34, of Morgantown, said he and teammates Everett Heiden and Aaron Brower have been competing the past five years. They met the members of the Flamingos through the annual contest and a friendship developed. The rival team members keep in touch year-round via social media, taunting each other by posting photos and videos of themselves eating wings.
Highlight of year
For Flamingos Michael Richard, 32, of South Plainfield, N.J., Michael DeLaurentis of Lansdale, Montgomery County, and Tim Savarese of Bangor, Northampton County, both 31, and their families, the contest is the biggest event of the year.
“We have other get-togethers, but everybody makes sure to get here,” said Richard, captain of the team. “We have been competing nine years.”
It is a chance for the friends, who met at Kutztown University, and their families to spend an enjoyable day together, he said.
After taking part in the contest for nearly a decade, the Flamingos have begun working on the next generation of wing-eaters, DeLaurentis said, starting with his sons, Simon, 6, and Oliver, 3.
“I have been training Simon all week,” DeLaurentis said. “He has been eating wings with me.”
The winning teams in each category walked away with trophies provided by the California Bar & Grill.
Supporting campers
The restaurant/bar covers much of the event’s expenses, so most of this year’s proceeds of more than $18,000 will go directly to the campers, said Nancy Knoebel, CEO of Easterseals.
Teams also are encouraged to raise more funds by finding sponsors, she said, noting the Pink Flamingos raised over $800 this year.
Spectators can support Easter Seals by cheering on their favorite teams, purchasing raffle tickets or making a donation, she said.
“We know that without the scholarships, there would be some children who would not be able to go to camp,” Knoebel said.