I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY . . . .

As we were returning home this weekend from our trip, Chris and I stopped at a Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3) to eat. Everytime I eat in one, I wax nostalgic for the dirty little dive of a BW3 that Chris and I used to eat at in campustown in Urbana with Charlie and Kelly. My great memories of that BW3 have very little to do with food, and much more to do with a much younger, more carefree time in my life.....anyway, enough of the stroll down memory lane.

The reason I decided to dedicate a blog entry to eating at BW3 was because of the picture display on the wall as you enter the restaurant. I hadn't noticed it, but Chris pointed it out to me. To have your picture included in this display, you must take the "Blazin' Challenge," and eat 12 of their wings prepared in the Blazin' sauce, in under six minutes, without any dips or something to drink. For completing this challenge, you also win an oh-so-attractive blaze orange t-shirt that I am sure proclaims that you are a Wing-eatin' god or fool or something to that accord.

Here is the description of the Blazin' sauce, as taken from the BW3 menu: Blazin'® - Keep away from eyes, pets, children: The hottest sauce we got. You'd BETTER-BE-READY BLAZIN' ™

The first thing I said to Chris (keep in mind that I had not seen the photo display) is, "I bet all the fools on that board are men." We walked by the board on the way out, and sure enough, there were 20 or so photos - - all men. Most women simply aren't foolish enough to feel the need to participate in this kind of activity.

I've never understood what draws people to compete in activities like this one, especially in eating contests. Every year on the 4th of July, Nathan's Hot Dogs sponsors a hot dog eating contest. This year's winner downed 66 hot dogs AND buns in 12 minutes. It is reported that about 40,000 people attend this event that is held every year at Coney Island, and an additional 1.5 million viewers watch it at home on ESPN. WHY? I don't understand the attraction. A few years ago, we went for lunch on the 4th of July to Bennigan's, and this event happened to be televised while we were there. I had to turn away from the television screen because I simply couldn't watch it while I was eating. It was enough to make you feel sick just to watch them furiously shoving hot dog after hot dog in their mouths. This year in 2007 was the first time in which cash prizes were actually awarded - - but even receiving $10,000 for first place doesn't seem like compensation enough. What's baffling is that people have been entering this contest for years, even though there was no prize money involved - they competed simply to win the "Nathan's Mustard Belt." Why would you want to win this contest? Bragging rights? What a way to charm the ladies (though in all fairness, I must note that a few women do sometimes compete in this contest.)

As I was doing a little research to write this entry, I discovered that there is an organization called IFOCE, which stands for the International Federation of Competitive Eating. They sponsor various types of eating contests held all over the world. According to their website, upcoming events include a pizza eating contest in Maryland, a rib eating contest in Connecticut, and a tamale eating contest in Texas. One of the major sponsors of these events? Alka Seltzer. How fitting.