- Gallery: SportsRadio WIP's Wing Bowl XX
Super Bowl vs. Wing Bowl - which is better? Which do I prefer? That's easy to answer . . . Wing Bowl! Why? It's simple because, as a Philadelphian, I have very little nexus with the Super Bowl and the experience I have with it . . . well, frankly, just sucks.
In 1981, I was confident we were going to own the Lombardi Trophy. Oakland, the AFC champ, was somewhat less than spectacular and probably wasn't even the best team in the AFC. The Birds weren't spectacular either, but we had Dick Vermeil as our coach, and I was absolutely positive he would find a way to win - he just wouldn't let us lose. Well, you know what happened. We were awful. Our offense generated practically nothing and our defense made Jim Plunkett look like Joe Namath.
In 2005, it was surely going to be different. This was the best all-around Eagles team I had or have ever seen. We were solid on defense and our offense was the best in football. A great line, a great quarterback (yes, Donovan McNabb was in his prime and he had a great year), the best all-around tailback in the game in Brian Westbrook, and an incredible wide receiver in the "good" Terrell Owens. No way we should lose this time to a good-but-not-great Patriots team. Well, the game was not a total disaster - we did some good things, such as Todd Pinkston making an incredible catch, Greg Lewis coming up big and T.O., on one leg, turning in a gutsy performance for the ages.
With only one good wheel, he was by far the best performer on the field. But the game turned out to be a nightmare that would eventually end with Donovan allegedly getting sick and throwing up in the huddle (at least projectile vomiting is something the game had in common with the Wing Bowl). It had all our faults rolled into one - no leadership, bad clock management, no fire and a subpar game plan. It was a simply awful loss and a virtual constant nightmare for me and every other rabid Eagles fan.
Contrast that doom and gloom and those bad Philadelphia vibes with Wing Bowl. Wing Bowl is probably the most hilarious event in any city in the country, and it's the quintessential Philadelphia spectacle. Could any other city draw a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 to watch a group mostly of obese men gorge themselves on chicken wings? Could any other city in the nation have fans wildly cheer projectile vomiting? And could any other city have competitors bearing such names as like El Wingador, Heavy Kevy and the Irish Mute?
The Mute was my all-time favorite. Whenever he was on the WIP morning show (with the proud creators of Wing Bowl), I would call in to wish him luck, and that produced wild bleating as the Irish Mute went into an ecstatic frenzy. We may not do well with Super Bowls, but the Wing Bowl is all ours!
I also choose the Wing Bowl over the Super Bowl because I had a role in making it what it is today. As many of you know, I've been a fairly regular caller into the morning show, starring the bombastic but great entertainer Angelo Cataldi, the caustic and wittily sardonic Al Morganti and the classy, smart Rhea Hughes (what's she doing at Wing Bowl?).
One day, Angelo wanted me to come to Wing Bowl, which was then at the Electric Factory. I came with a small replica of the Liberty Bell to present to the winner (Eric "Gentleman E" Bell). When I got there, the Factory was bursting at the seams. So I suggested to Angelo that it should be moved to the Spectrum to accommodate all the fun. As part of the deal to build the CoreStates (now Wells Fargo) Center, the city was given the right to use it for 10 days. I believed that this caveat would be great for community groups, but none of them could pay the setup costs. WIP, of course, could and did, and that's how Wing Bowl became super and eventually took place in front of 20,000 screaming lunatics.
The first year at the Spectrum, I appeared again wanting to see the fruits of my handiwork. I found, much to my surprise, that the Bowl had a new wrinkle - scantily clad, well-endowed Wingettes. They were delightful, but I still wanted to run for governor, so that was, alas, my last Wing Bowl in person, for fear of being photographed among the Wingettes. But my role in making Wing Bowl a special day for our city ranks as one of my proudest achievements. Now if we could only win a Super Bowl. Come on, Andy, put us in a better position to win and make the Super Bowl as much fun as the Wing Bowl!
Send email to asktheguv@gmail.com
