WingBowl 15 Part 2 of 6: Showing Up

float label
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

Some people must come from Chicago to compete.
Some come from Florida.
Some from Las Vegas.

They have it easy. Wing Kong and I have only to go about 10 miles, but we have to bring 40 drinking adults, costumes, 2 floats, signs, tshirts, and a yellow school bus with us...and it has to be exactly at 3AM Friday Morning. Out of towners need only bring themselves and their clothes...preferably some shoes too.

Wing Bowl tradition requires each eater to have 10 people that he selects as 'Enterauge'. These ten souls rally around their eater and help present him and his float to the gathered crowd before the Eating Competition. It is a good idea to get people that are not afraid of acting like a JackAss in front of 20,000 people, it's also smart to get guys who can take over some of the organizational duties in the weeks before the Contest.

Rise & Shine!
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

Most of my Enterauge came back this year, and still had the kilts we made for WingBowl 14. My costume commitee decided to pair the kilts with 'Wife-Beater' style t-shirts and fake plastic bellys that they got off the internet. It was a simple look that kept us recognizable and well ventilated. Good Job Guys. Experience taught me that it's a bad idea to paint your face before a Eating Competition, and I've retired the tattoos out of simplicity.

The float committee had a much harder job. By committee I mean me and my neighbor who's a Carpenter. It was very difficult for me to settle on a float idea this year. I spent 3 months pondering ideas....all of them pretty much sucked. I called in the creative experts one night at the diner table.

Under Construction
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

"It can be something I ride on, or something that is pulled behind me. It cant be more than 7 feet wide." I said trying to give them the least amount of restrictions possible. Children have the most wonderful brains for this kind of job. "Oh, and we have to be able to hide four or five cases of beer inside it."

This was actually the MOST IMPORTANT restriction on the float. Wachovia Security is very tight with this sort of thing, (having alcohol in the holding area under the Stadium is a no-no) but in the past they have been willing to look the other way if you successfully snuck it in AND you werent being a flagrant asshole. Although I would not be drinking, it was imperitive for my Enterauge to have copious amounts as they spent 4 hours quarantined with me.

"How about a Giant Beer Can?" said my 10 year old.

Here the answer had been infront of me all along. It took the genius mind of my middle son to show me the trees in this forest. I could instantly see it in all it's glory...a giant Trojan Beer Can full of beer cans....could i be any more proud that my own son thought of it?

Steakbellie Wept.

The Ride
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

My friend, the carpenter was inspired and built an 8ft tall beer can that had a circumference of 12ft and could hold 96,000 fl oz of beer or alittle over 8,000 cans. The can was seemed verticaly and could be taken apart to fit into the aisle of a schoolbus, and reassembled with no tools. It had a trap door to access the secret contents inside.

The funny thing about having a real carpenters build your float is that it is of the upmost craftsmanship. In fact I marveled to him many times that it was nicer than my house.

Steakbellie:"This is nicer than my House"
Brian the Carpenter: (silence)

The Can Arrives
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

The painting and labeling was up to me so I covered it in 8 cans of Krylon Silver Spray Paint and designed the label for it. A former employer gladly printed the label on their wide format printers in exchange for 4 Floor Seats and some tshirts. Saved me 15 hours of handpainting!

The label stated quite lovingly: "Steakbellie's Can O' Wup Ass"

2:00AM came very quickly for me and I feel fortunate to have gotten 3 hours sleep. I showered, Kilted, and stumbled down the stair to make coffee. (I will begrudgingly endure days without food, but kill you and your Mother if I dont get coffee)
Through out the night friends and family arrived from far away places and crashed on available floorspace awaiting my wakening.

At 2:45 AM I had 15 People in my dining room.
At 2:50 AM I had a Yellow School Bus idling in front of my house
At 3:00 AM I had 30 people and the police out front

Wing Kongs Float
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

On board the bus were friends and neighbors of myself and WingKong. Most hadnt been on a schoolbus in decades and it's funny to see them revert back to childish behavior. All the alcohol they we drinking helped to.

With Floats secure in Pickup Trucks (the School Bus Didnt have an Emergency Door in the back!) We began our dark trek to the stadium. Wing Kong and I pined smiles to our faces and watched the loud fun, signing and chanting on the bus. I was ready and just wanted the competition to begin.

Partying on the Bus in the Parking Lot
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

Police Escorts with flashing lights met us as we went from town to town. Each cruiser would hand us off to the next with Lights Blazing. That was fun for me and made this whole thing seem important somehow. (I told you people out here take this seriously)

Upon arriving at the Stadium at about 3:45AM (We had to show our security passes just to get in the lot) Each Team of 10 said their goodbyes to our friends & wives (who would remain on the bus for another 3 hours or so drinking and partying), loaded our floats up with alcohol, and dragged them through the bitter cold to the loading dock.

Can O' Whup Ass
Originally uploaded by steakbellie.

We had arrived.