Party planners across the USA are making ready for the 51st Super Bowl on February 5 that will pit the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The winning team will be presented the biggest prize in American professional football competition, the coveted Lombardi Trophy – and cash in on a super payday.
Consumption of the unofficial staple food of Super Bowl Sunday – the chicken wing – is estimated to hit 1.33 billion wings on the weekend of February 4-5 weekend, according to the Washington, DC-headquartered National Chicken Council (NCC). The trade association’s 2017 Wing Report projects a rise of 2%, or 30 million wings, compared with 2016 – and an increase of 6.5%, or 80 million wings, over 2015.
Visualizing the Big Picture
- If 1.33 billion were laid end to end, they would stretch from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta almost 80 times.
- 1.33 billion wings is enough to circle Planet Earth almost three times.
- Tipping the scales at about 166.25 million pounds, 1.33 billion wings weigh 338 times more than the combined weight of all 32 NFL teams.
- Eating two wings per minute, it would take an NFL player 1,265 years, 80 days, 7 hours and 12 minutes to consume 1.33 billion chicken wings.
Falcons vs. Patriots
When it comes to levels of chicken wing consumption, the two competing Super Bowl regions are close. According to NPD Group market research, folks in the Northeastern United States – Patriots Country – eat 12% more wings on average than other US regions, while the Southland – Falcons Country – eats 13% more.
Additionally, NPD Group data reveals that millennials hold the chicken wing consumption crown, with wing eaters aged 18- to 24-years-old consuming approximately 61% more wings than other age groups.
“Although we typically like to stick together with ‘feathered’ teams, we’ll keep our projections to wing consumption and not the Super Bowl winner,” said Tom Super, NCC senior vice president of communications. “With two pretty dominant wing-hungry regions in the game, this year’s Super Bowl should be great for both football and chicken wing fans.”
The National Chicken Council estimates that of the wings eaten during Super Bowl weekend, 75% will come from restaurants or foodservice outlets, and 25% from retail grocery stores.
Although the vast majority of wings eaten during the Super Bowl are purchased from restaurants, bars or wing and pizza joints, wing sales at grocery stores and supermarkets spike dramatically during the week of the Super Bowl.
For more information, including chicken wing history and recipe suggestions, visit www.nationalchickencouncil.org/chicken-wing-history and www.chickenroost.com/chicken-recipes.
