{"id":462977,"date":"2026-09-14T01:22:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T01:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462977\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T01:22:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T01:22:33","slug":"the-start-of-the-nfl-season-kicks-off-chicken-wing-sundays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/462977\/","title":{"rendered":"The start of the NFL season kicks off chicken wing Sundays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The menu options around game time at Long Beach\u2019s Legends Sports Bar<\/a> include robust choices from sandwiches to burgers, nachos to ahi tacos, fish and chips and ribs.<\/p>\n

Yet, with the kickoff of the first NFL Sunday this season, longtime Legends kitchen manager Erick Rivera knows one item will dominate his orders from now until February: chicken wings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely the truth, and there\u2019s no comparison for our customers,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cThey love wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Buffalo chicken wings are served at Legends Restaurant & Sports Bar in Long Beach on Friday.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

If hot dogs and baseball represent a slice of Americana, then perhaps chicken wings and football are also a perfect pairing.<\/p>\n

Restaurants, sports bars and take-out specialists throughout the nation are bracing for wings season, with the chicken and restaurant industry noting increased consumption spiking on NFL Sundays until the piece de resistance: Super Bowl Sunday.<\/p>\n

Essential California spoke with Rivera about how he\u2019s prepping for this NFL season.<\/p>\n

You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n

Sign up to start every day with California’s most important stories.<\/p>\n

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What do the stats say<\/p>\n

Restaurant point-of-sale system provider Toast noted that the most popular dish ordered during the NFL season in cities with a host team is chicken wings.<\/p>\n

Restaurants, bars and wings providers see \u201ca 25% increase in average order volume on Sundays<\/a> in the season compared to Sundays out of the season,\u201d according to Toast.<\/p>\n

The National Chicken Council, a nonprofit trade association that advocates on behalf of the U.S. Broiler chicken industry<\/a>, said sales exploded last NFL postseason.<\/p>\n

Chicken wing unit sales soared nationally in the final week of the NFL season and up until the Super Bowl, up 19.8% nationally year-over-year<\/a>, which the council said reflected \u201cstrong seasonal\/game-day demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Close-up <\/p>\n

Legends is expected to serve somewhere between eight and 11 cases of wings weighing between 320 and 440 pounds total on NFL Sundays.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

On that Feb. 8, Americans were projected to have consumed a record 1.48 billion chicken wings while watching the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots, 29-13,<\/a> in Super Bowl LX, according to the National Chicken Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the Super Bowl\u2026 wings rule the roost,\u201d Tom Super, National Chicken Council senior vice president of communication, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cFor football fans looking to add protein to their spreads at an affordable price, wings are king of Super Bowl menus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wing-eating is a harbinger of success?<\/p>\n

In 2023, wings lost their top billing among Angelenos, who consumed 23% more burritos on NFL Sundays than on non-NFL Sundays. Curry (20%) and nachos (19%) also saw sizable spikes that year, according to Toast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In comparison, Super Bowl champion Kansas City saw a surge in wings that year of 48%.<\/p>\n

L.A.\u2019s two home teams provided mixed reviews in 2023.<\/p>\n

The Rams finished second in the NFC West and lost in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The Chargers finished 5-12 and missed the postseason entirely.<\/p>\n

This past season, the Chargers posted their second straight 11-win season, the most victories for the franchise over a two-year stretch since 2017-18, and lost in the wild-card round.<\/p>\n

The Rams won 12 games and marched to the NFC Conference Championship game, the first such advancement since their 2021 Super Bowl season.<\/p>\n

\"An <\/p>\n

At Legends, an order of wings can range from six to 48 pieces.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

While the eventual Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks nipped the Rams 31-27<\/a>, Los Angeles blitzed all four conference championship cities, consuming more wings than Boston, Seattle and Denver, according to the National Chicken Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rivera and Co. ready for the wing surge<\/p>\n

An NFL Sunday generally spans from 10 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Legends is expected to serve somewhere between eight and 11 cases of wings weighing between 320 and 440 pounds total on NFL Sundays, Rivera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a regular non-football Sunday, probably we sell half that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The restaurant offers four sauces and dry rubs, each with orders ranging from six-piece servings up to 48-piece buckets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are for people who don\u2019t want to take their eyes off the TV,\u201d Rivera said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Rivera said most wing orders are served in-house until the playoffs. By Super Bowl Sunday, the tide turns for take-out.<\/p>\n

He says the restaurant serves between eight and 11 cases of wings, the same haul for a standard NFL 10 \u00bd-hour day, in the roughly four hours of the Super Bowl game.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want their wings,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The week\u2019s biggest stories \"The <\/a> Crumbling coastlinesCrime and policingLegal and courtroom dramaLucas Museum of Narrative ArtMore newsEditor\u2019s pickMore picksThings to do \"Photo <\/a> <\/p>\n

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Evan Agostini \/ Invision \/ AP)<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Recipe \"Chicken <\/a> <\/p>\n

(Jay L. Clendenin\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Maybe takeout chicken wings with your NFL games aren\u2019t your thing. Try your hand at making your own. There are a thousand rubs, sauces and styles. Here\u2019s a stout beer and mustard wings recipe<\/a> that involves molasses, coffee and barley that will make your mouth water.<\/p>\n

Photo of the day \"Three <\/a> <\/p>\n

Divers jump into the water at Sunset Cliffs in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego.<\/p>\n

(Sandy Huffaker \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Games \"Mini <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s today\u2019s mini crossword<\/a>, plus our other free, daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n

Jack Dolan, investigative reporter
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The menu options around game time at Long Beach\u2019s Legends Sports Bar include robust choices from sandwiches to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,131,133,132,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-462977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}