It’s almost showtime! With just two weeks to go until the Philadelphia Construction Expo IV invades the Fort Washington Expo Center with armies of heavy equipment and a brigade of dealers, it’s time to announce the celebrity guest for the two-day event on March 11 and 12: (Drum roll, please.)
Weighing in at 300 lbs. and measuring 6 ft. 5 in. tall, the venerable “El Wingador” (a.k.a. Bill Simmons) will be strutting up and down the aisles, sharing with guests his secret recipe to success at local sports radio station WIP’s famous (or infamous) Wing Bowl, held annually during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
El Wingador, of Woodbury Heights, NJ, is a four-time champion of the Buffalo wingeating competition. During Wing Bowl 2003, he shuffled down 154 wings for his third victory in row.
Besides having a prowess for prolifically polishing off chicken wings, El Wingador drives a tractor-trailer for Suratran Trucking, based in Williamstown, NJ. Often, the voluminous eater finds himself transporting ribs and burgers and the like up and down the eastern seaboard, though he claims that there’s no connection between this and his affinity for large-scale meat consumption.
“I’ve been eating chicken my whole life; I’ll take it over lobster anytime,” said E1 Wingador, who discovered his true calling five years ago when then defending Wing Bowl champion, “Heavy Kevvy,” decided it was time to retire and pursue other interests.
However, “Heavy Kevvy” vowed to recruit somebody who could continue his tradition of chicken-chowing championships.
“I have a friend who’s 400 lbs.,” began Wingador, “but he didn’t eat wings; he just didn’t like them. And Heavy Kevvy called me because people called me the ’chicken man,’ so he asked if I thought I could win, and I said ’yeah!’ ”
Thus began a new legend. In his first Wing Bowl, El Wingador made 113 wings disappear and won easily. But the sophomore jinx plagued him the following year. Hampered by a 103-degree fever, he only could muster the strength for 78 wings, far short of the winning 90-wing mark.
After his disappointing second-place finish that left a sour taste in his mouth, El Wingador, in true Rocky fashion, began training. But rather than ascend the famed Philadelphia Museum’s stairs, he followed a strict regimen for his jaws, rendering them a mean eating machine.
“My jaws got tired in the first two Wing Bowls,” he said. “And that was the only problem I had, so I began eating frozen Tootsie rolls to train. I knew I had to do better.”
Proving inspirational, his training worked and El Wingador, during his third Wing Bowl, ate with reckless abandon and surpassed his previous high by attaining the astounding number of 137 wings. Like a true champion, El Wingador knew there was room in his stomach for improvement, and in the next competition he downed 145 wings. Then in his fifth and most recent Wing Bowl, he left no doubt in the annals of Wing Bowldom, inhaling a mind-boggling 154 wings, all the while showing the intestinal fortitude required for such feats.
When asked by Construction Equipment Guide (CEG) about his secret recipe to success, El Wingador explained: “Well I actually don’t throw up … It’s all mind over matter. I get into a zone where I don’t see or hear anything going on around me. The other eaters will be sweating and gagging, but I don’t think about it. I also read a lot of books on mind power and that helps me a lot,” he said.
Buffalo wings aren’t the only food with which El Wingador excels. Other professional eaters must contend with his ever-expanding desire to devour diverse delicacies. El Wingador shed light on his other accomplishments:
“In Los Angeles, they ranked me number one for 30 minutes of eating anything. I went against the five-time undefeated Japanese champion eating California cheeseburgers, which were humongous. He beat me 21 to 19, but we were neck and neck for most of the competition. No one up to that time had gotten that close to him.
“And I participated in Fox’s Glutton Bowl in February 2002 where I had to eat a 15-ft. long piece of Sushi as thick as a hoagie and I won that event,” he said.
For his upcoming special guest appearance at CEG’s “Greatest Show in Dirt,” El Wingador will be sporting his crown and championship belt. And because of his wealth of experience in championship events, CEG has asked El Wingador to be an honorary judge for the $5,000 operators’ backhoe rodeo. But don’t think that this wing warrior lacks in experience with heavy construction equipment.
“I know how to operate backhoes and heavy equipment, and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of the new equipment that will be there. Hey, I’m a blue-collar guy and I love this stuff. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
So make plans now and get out to the show on March 11 and 12 for what will be remembered as the marquis industry event of 2003.
Craig Mongeau
Craig Mongeau has been Construction Equipment Guide’s editor in chief for the past 21-plus years. He directly manages CEG’s Northeast and Southeast editions (which includes New England, Georgia and Alabama state supplements); Superintendent’s Profile; Crane Guide; Northeast and Southeast-based anniversary magazines; and special event publications. He also oversees CEG’s Midwest and Western Editions as well as all CEG website content.
A Hofstra University graduate, Craig began his publishing career as a staff writer for local Southeast Pennsylvania newspapers. He then became an associate editor and book editor of Springhouse Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based medical publishing house and then worked as a managing editor of Rockhill Communications, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., where he created and managed content for a national Voluntary Hospital Association website.
Originally from Pittsfield, Mass., Craig has lived in North Wales, Pa., for the past 27 years. He has been married to his wife, Hillary, whom he met in college, since 1998 and together, they have two daughters, Jolie and Aubrie.
Read more from Craig Mongeau here.
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