Jan. 23--Whether you plan to root for the Seattle Seahawks or the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday, one thing that will unite the nation is chicken wings.
According to a National Chicken Council report released Friday, 1.25 billion wings will be consumed during Super Bowl XLIX.
The average wholesale price of chicken wings is $1.71 per pound, up from $1.35 per pound at the same time last year, according to the Daily Northeast Broiler/Fryer Report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Marketing Service. Wing prices hit a record high $2.11 per pound in January 2013.
If 1.25 billion wings were put end-to-end, assuming an average length of 3.5 inches, they would stretch to and from CenturyLink Field in Seattle to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., almost 28 times, the Chicken Council said. The wings also would circle the Grand Canyon 120 times.
It's enough wings to put 572 on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums and they weigh about 5,955 times more than the Seahawks and Patriots entire 52-man rosters combined, the council said.
Most people will buy wings from restaurants and bars, but wings sales at grocery stores also spike during Super Bowl week. Nielsen Perishables Group FreshFacts shows that fresh and prepared wings sales totaled $1.7 billion in the 52 weeks ended Nov. 29, 2014, an increase of 3.1 percent compared with a year earlier.
As far as dipping sauces go, Ranch wins out. More than half of people prefer ranch for dipping, while 42 percent prefer barbecue sauce and 36 percent prefer blue cheese, the Chicken Council said.
ehirst@tribpub.com
@ellenjeanhirst
