Wing Bowl judging leaves bad taste with Birdsboro man

Mike Casciano of Birdsboro always knew he could eat a lot of food fast.
But he never imagined a Philadelphia radio station’s annual chicken wing-eating contest, the famous WIP Wing Bowl, could suddenly rocket him toward the zenith of amateur competitive eating.
“I heard they were having a Wing Off in West Chester, so I thought I could get some free wings and see how I do,” Casciano said of his first step toward the 2008 Wing Bowl.
The Wing Bowl, whose byword is boundless debauchery, is held in the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia the Friday before the Super Bowl. It was started as a consolation to Eagle fans whose team has never won a Super Bowl.
About 17,000 attended Wing Bowl 17 on Friday, Jan. 30.
Casciano went to a couple of preliminary Wing Offs — 10-minute competitions held at various eateries around the Delaware Valley to see how many wings can be devoured by semifinalists.
“I went to one in West Chester and ate 54 wings in 10 minutes and then went to a second Wing Off in New Jersey and qualified for the Wing Bowl,” Casciano said.
Competing at Wing Bowl is a national competitive eating distinction. It also means putting together an entourage and coming up with a persona.
One of Casciano’s teammates on the Kutztown University Golden Bears football team had dubbed him “Caveman.”
“I never shaved during football season and had the whole beard thing and sloppy look going on,” he said.
Casciano came in seventh in 2008 but 11th at this year’s Wing Bowl.
Casciano said he never thought he’d be contemplating retirement just two years into his amateur competitive eating career, especially just after gorging himself beside pros like Joey Chestnut, the Black Widow and Philadelphia’s own El Wingadore.
Make no bones about it, he loves the eating and the competition, but in a way he felt a little cheated this year.
He chewed through 75 wings in the first round. Then there was a technical snag.
“The judges didn’t count all my wings,” he said. “They said I didn’t eat 90 percent of the meat off of some of the bones. How do you tell what 90 percent is, anyway?
“Besides, I was still hungry.”
The incident left a bad taste in his mouth, Casciano said, but he still hasn’t made a final decision on retirement.
“I don’t want to do a Brett Favre and end up coming back,” Casciano said. “I know I can still do it, but I’m not sure my heart is in it.”
And, he’s graduating from college later this year.
“I’m going to have to live in the real world,” Casciano said. “I’m not sure where competitive eating fits in there.”
In Kelly’s Korner, Dan Kelly writes about the people and personalities that make Berks County special. Contact him 610-371-5040 or dkelly@readingeagle.com.