By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun
Two years ago, professional eaters were banned from the Wing Bowl, Philadelphia’s largest and most publicized eating event. For 2011, it’s going to be a whole new ballgame and local competitive eater Dave Goldstein can’t wait to get back to Philadelphia.
Currently ranked as the 22nd highest competitive eater in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, Dave “U.S. Male” Goldstein is licking his chops to get back to the Wachovia Center amidst the screaming fans and spicy hot wings.
An avid participant in competitive eating competitions around the country, Goldstein was crestfallen two years ago when the “Morning Show” on local sports talk station 610 WIP — the organizers and originators of the event — limited the Wing Bowl to non-professional eaters. Goldstein was left wondering what could have been these past two competitions as he watched amateur eater Jonathan “Super” Squibb win twice in a row.
“As for WIP not allowing pro eaters in Wing Bowl the past two years, they wanted to go old school and make it a local only, amateur contest once again. They thought that perhaps more amateurs would step up and give it a try and then the event would be a tight battle to the end. I think the plan sort of failed but it did produce a good young eater, Jonathan “Super” Squibb from the Berlin area. Nobody even came close to him these past two years,” Goldstein said.
Squibb won for the second year in a row, eating a mind-numbing 238 wings in 30 minutes.
Goldstein actually began his foray into the world of competitive eating when he first participated in the Wing Bowl in 2007. Contestants gather at the Wachovia Center to see who can choke down the most chicken wings in three rounds of competition. Goldstein finished in fifth place after eating 138 wings that year.
To gain entry to the event, contestants must perform an eating stunt live, on air, in front of the Morning Show at 610 WIP studios. He gained admittance to the 2008 Wing Bowl by eating four pounds of cold sloppy joe in four minutes. He washed it down with a can of dog food.
To better prepare for a busy summer of competitive eating events — his next will be a cheese steak competition in May at Dorney Park — Goldstein has shed 25 pounds and plans to run in the 10-mile Broad Street run held each May in Philadelphia. In July, he’ll once again try to gain admittance to the world famous hotdog eating contest at Nathans in Coney Island on July 4.
“I am working harder than ever this year to prepare for the Wing Bowl,” he said. “I recently dropped 25 pounds, go to the gym several times a week and do all this around eating training.”
His last competitive eating competition was on Feb. 6 when he took on a “King Cake” eating event at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City and finished in sixth place. Undaunted, he went on to break the five pound burrito record at Tortilla Press in Collingswood in early March.
Goldstein currently holds the world record for crawfish, set at five pounds in 12 minutes.
