Apparently, there were critics who thought a four-hour radio show on chicken wings couldn’t be done.
Those doubting Thomases were wrong, and believe me, when a such a radio program was held on Omaha talk radio station KFAB on April 14, it was really entertaining, and I learned a few things along the way.
The host of the show was none other than the Saucy Nugs Dude, Nebraska resident Ander Christensen, who gained international fame after he took his message to the Lincoln City Council about how the use of the term “boneless wings” should be eliminated, because the product was not wing meat at all.
I had previously interviewed Christensen a couple of times, but for this show, the interviewer became the interviewee and vice-versa. More on that later.
Show highlights
Near the beginning of the show, Christensen played audio of his speech before the Lincoln City Council. He admitted that he did it just for fun, and even though he was serious and passionate about what he said, part of his motivation was to play a prank on his father, who was a member of the council.
He just thought he’d say his piece and that would be the end of it. He was wrong. Somebody uploaded footage of that meeting on Twitter, and it went viral. And he has since learned that others in the world share strong opinions that the phrase “boneless wings” is a misnomer.
On the radio show, Christensen interviewed Drew Cerza, who founded the National Buffalo Wing Festival and was dubbed “The Wing King” by Bobby Flay. He also interviewed Wyoming businessman Trent Weitzel, who operates multiple wing trucks and has the Festival Favorite award.
As interesting as Cerza and Weitzel were, it was commentary from Christensen himself, as well as some of his callers, that I enjoyed most.
One caller named George spoke very passionately about how it isn’t a wing, unless you pull them apart yourselves, and not get them already separated as flats and drumettes. Sonny shared his strong opinions about how you shouldn’t put ranch on wings, and bleu cheese is the only acceptable option. (Christensen agreed.)
Christensen also talked in detail about why the experience of eating boneless wings or saucy nugs pales in comparison to eating actual wings, and stories were shared by he and his guests on where the good and bad places to eat wings were.
Christensen also insinuated boneless wing eaters were lazier than traditional wing eaters, comparing them to the student in a group project who doesn’t contribute but still expects the same grade, or the construction crew worker who leans on his shovel while others do all the work. I’m not sure if I would agree with that, but it was comical.
My airtime
I first learned about the show about a week and a half in advance. I got a text from Christensen, who told me about the opportunity that the radio station had given him, and asked if I would be able to participate.
I knew I had a schedule conflict during the early stages of the show, but we found a time frame that I thought would work. But then things got a little interesting for me. I learned that the school had made an error on its calendar, and a track meet that I thought would be the previous day, was actually the day of the show. I checked with the coach, and he thought my son would not be competing in anything during that 10-minute segment.
Christensen and I shared a laugh, because it really doesn’t get more talk radio than two guys having a conversation about chicken wings while one of them was at a sporting event.
What we hadn’t counted on was the meet being interrupted for a delay of about 20 minutes due to lightning. And wouldn’t you know it, right before my son made his second of four discus throws, my phone rang and it was the producer of the show, telling me I would be up in a few minutes.
While on the air, I answered a few questions on high-demand chicken wing events like the Super Bowl, and how they affect the supply for the remainder of the year, citing information shared by the National Chicken Council. We also talked a little about chicken imports and exports, and who the major players were, before being excused so I could be able to watch the final throws undistracted.
While the timing wasn’t the best, I was glad Christensen included me.
In case you would like to hear the show, it has since been published online as a podcast, minus the commercial breaks, which trims the time fairly significantly. I believe it will be time well spent.
