how they'll lose

Week 17 vs. Cincinnati

by Brian Hickey

(Season record: 2-13)

I'll never forget the first time I met Fino Cachola.

It was January 2000 and as a reporter in Atlantic City trying to scam an angle to cover Wing Bowl in Philly, I called 610-WIP. I figured if I could find a competitor from South Jersey, my editors would buy into a story about a wing-eating contest.

The plan worked. On the eve of the competition, I traveled up the Atlantic City Expressway to Williamstown, where I met with the man known to sports-talk aficionados as Chili Dawg. (A short, somewhat-round fellow, he had a penchant for them.) Kicking back in his living room with a couple of beers and, of course, plates of wings while watching the Flyers game, we got to talking about speed-eating strategies and life.

About the former, Fino showed me his secret: By sliding a false front tooth out of his mouth, he could strip each wing clean like nobody's business. Though he had nowhere near the girth of his foes, Fino's trick consistently earned him top-five finishes.

About life, well, it was easy to see that the 31-year-old electrician couldn't have been much happier. He had a claim to fame and a wife who supported him in his endeavors. Sure, Joelle Cachola explained, she had some selfish motives, i.e., the potential of a free trip to Aruba, that year's grand prize. But as the three of us laughed a couple hours away discussing the absurdity of what would be happening the following morning, I realized these were just good people who loved life and not the sideshow freaks I was expecting.

Each subsequent year, I'd catch up with Chili Dawg as Wing Bowl approached, whether it be at WIP's studios as he tackled a crazy eating stunt to get back into the Big Dance or at Guiseppi's bar in Mt. Ephraim, where, with wing-sauce-stained hands, he'd give me the T-shirts that his fan club would be wearing at the bowl. I'd always make the point that he'd better save some room for the wings he'd be cramming down his gullet in mere hours. He never seemed too worried.

Though the encounters were few and far between, I came to consider him a friend.

That's why this week — as Philadelphia mourns the loss of a great competitor named Reggie White — I want to make sure people keep Fino in their thoughts as well.

On Dec. 10, Fino qualified for Wing Bowl 13 by eating a dozen grilled-cheese sandwiches in 7 minutes, 19 seconds. The day after Christmas, Fino died. The obituary didn't get specific: At 36, he left behind a wife, two children and loads of friends. Though he was a Jersey boy, Fino was a quintessential Philadelphia character.

He'll be missed.

Oh yeah, since the Eagles don't seem to care about winning or losing these days, we're not going to waste any time with analysis. They'll get beat to the tune of:

Bengals 13, Eagles 10