October 24-25, 2015, at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Manhattan Kansas, I did the unthinkable. Something that many have tried, yet it is has been failed more times than conquered. Maybe. I do not really know the figures and facts on that, but I did it. I conquered the "Blazin' Wings Challenge" at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was epic, but stupid. (but epic) It immortalized my name as Dan "The Man" Peters. Do you not believe me? Well there is a video on Facebook that proves it.
The reason I was in Manhattan Kansas was because a small number of band students, myself included, went down to Kansas State University to help with the marching band competition there. (In case you do not know, Dr. Gilbert of Doane and Dr. Frank Tracz of K-State are the best of bros) Afterwards, we went to our motel and got settled into our rooms. We split off into groups for we could not all decide what or where to eat, so one group went to a Chinese place while the group I was with went to Buffalo Wild Wings a few blocks away. I think there was a third group, but then again, maybe not. It has been awhile since that night.
Manhattan Kansas has really fun night scene. It is ranked in a "Top 50 Greatest College Towns to Live In". It was really cool just to walk around and take in all of the sights. Once we we found Buffalo Wild Wings, we got seated and like normal college kids, we laughed and just had an awesome time with one another. That is, until the waitress came to take our orders. Not knowing what I wanted, I went last and blurted out those six fateful words: "I'll try the Blazin' Wings Challenge." Oh how big my eyes got after I said those words.
What possessed me to face this challenge? Was it pride? Did I have something to prove to people? Maybe to myself? Maybe I am just that crazy. No matter what, I could not back down. Here I was, a Nebraska boy representing Doane who came down to Kansas, was about to show them what was up. My confidence rose as I waited because I was motivating myself. However, as soon as she came back with the 12 hottest wings they had, my heart sunk. The smell enough was able to clear out your sinuses. I was about to go to war.
12 wings, six minutes, no drinks until the last wing is done. Let me just say.... I did not cry....... ok that was just a straight up lie. I cried. It was beyond painful. I had to go fast though because it was not the time that had me concerned, it was the heat. The mix of sauces that made them so hot, along with the heat of the wings, my lips were on fire. I knew I could not stop though. Mainly because there was a group of guys that walked by and started cheering me on. I was not about to chicken out. I took a deep breath and one by one, I dropped each meatless bone into the basket until the last one dropped.
Three minutes is all it took for me. I had conquered the "Blazin Wings Challenge." I drank so much water, swigged around milk in my mouth, and put my lips on ice, but the pain stayed. Every couple of minutes, my entire body would clench up and violently shake, but I did it. In the end, why exactly did I do this? Well, the reason I did it was because why not? I was there and wanted to do something interesting, so I did it. Still think this is just a fake story? Well here is the proof.
