Philadelphia's infamous Wing Bowl is no more after being a 26-year long tradition in the city on the Friday of Super Bowl weekend.
Eating contests have become an incredibly popular part of food culture in the 21st century. Restaurants and eateries around the world think up challenges for willing customers to put their appetites and stomachs to the test. There are even entire TV shows dedicated to them and some participants even refer to themselves as competitive eaters.
One of the biggest eating contests in the world is WIP's Wing Bowl, an annual event that has taken place on the Friday before the Super Bowl every year for the past 26 years. Not only has the melee that is the Wing Bowl attracted famous faces such as Ric Flair and Dennis Rodman, but this year 20,000 fans packed into the Wells Fargo Center to see it all go down.
RELATED: 20 OF THE WORLD'S WILDEST EATING CONTESTS
Well, as it turns out, those thousands of fans were witnessing history in a way they didn't initially realize. The founders of the contest back in 1993, WIP hosts Angelo Cataldi and Al Morganti announced this week that the 2018 Wing Bowl was the last. Morganti explained that the Wing Bowl was there to fill the void left by the Philadelphia Eagles never winning the Super Bowl. However, now the Eagles have won, the Wing Bowl can be no more.
.@AngeloCataldi announces @WIPWingBowl has come to an end. #WingBowlForever pic.twitter.com/Yk5FDQr1Fo
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) October 30, 2018
What's rather fitting about the whole situation is that at this year's Wing Bowl, a brand new record was set. Eventual winner Molly Schuyler beat her own record of 444 wings by demolishing an incredible 501 wings in the space of an hour. Her next closest rival was a full 105 wings behind her. An out and out winner setting a record that will now presumably stand forever.
We have personally never been to a Wing Bowl, but it sounds absolutely insane. What makes the whole event feel even stranger is that it takes place first thing in the morning. By 9 am, all the wings have been eaten and the event is over. Hopefully, even though WIP will no longer be running the event, someone else will pick it up. It would be a shame to see an almost 30-year long Philly tradition simply come to an end just like that.
NEXT: THIS CHICKEN WING MENU HAS THE INTERNET BAFFLED
