Americans Will Celebrate the Super Bowl by Eating 1.3 Billion Wings

Chicken wingswill be flying off shelves this weekend as Americans prepare for Super Bowl 50. A new report from theNational Chicken Councilsays football fans will eat 1.3billionwings, up 3 percent (37.5 million) from last year. That's enough for every man, woman, and child in the USA to have four wings each. There was no mention of how much ranch dressing will also be consumed.

It is no surprise that people like wings, but the popularity of this particular snack category continues to soar. A recent"snack bracket"on theTodayshow" for example, suggests that wings beat every other common sports snack you can think of: nachos, chili, guacamole, subs, dips, and salsa (burgers and hot dogs, interestingly, were not included in the matchups).

The data does not suggest, however, that more people are cooking. Only 25 percent of the wings consumed this year will come from grocery stores; the remaining 75 percent will be served at restaurants and caterers.

The Super Bowl is considered the second biggest food day in the country, after Thanksgiving. This year, more than 189 million people in the USA are expected to watch the game. The National Chicken Council also predicts—drum roll, please—that the Carolina Panthers will beat the Denver Broncos, based on wing sales.