FAIRFIELD, Conn. – An hour before taking the stage for the U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Contest last Sunday, Fairfield University Associate Director of Athletics Mike Harris made his way to the participant tent. As Harris drew closer, nervousness began to overtake his usually calm demeanor.

"When I started walking toward the tent about an hour before the event, I started to have a little bit of nerves," Harris said. "About a half hour before the start, I asked Joey (Chestnut) if I could take a selfie. I lifted up my hand to take the photo and I noticed my hand was shaking. So I said to him 'can you tell I'm nervous?'".  He said not to worry about it because he was always nervous before these things too. That was soothing to hear."

It was a common theme for Harris as he made his way around the tent, introducing himself to all the competitors. When he told them he was a guest competitor, the group welcomed him and gave him advice as to how to approach the day.

"When I went into the tent at first, there were three or four competitors just sitting quietly on their own," Harris said. "After a while, I went over and said hi and told them that I was a guest competitor. James (Webb) told me he thought it was really awesome and it was great that they put me in the competition. He and a couple of others told me just to have fun because they were there to have fun too."

When they took the stage, the pregame camaraderie was still in force. Eric "Badlands" Booker leaned over and asked Harris if he had a strategy for the contest.

"Badlands asked me if I had a strategy and I said no and that I was just there to enjoy myself," Harris said. "He told me that Joey does the chipmunk cheeks, but he wouldn't suggest because it's hard to eat that much food at once & get any water to help if you aren't used to it. Just eat and drink and eat and drink because your mouth dries quickly. I really appreciated that. All the way up until they rang the bell, he was very supportive of me and really helpful."

Each competitor started with a tray of about 200 wings. But with the advice of his fellow competitors and a firm commitment to enjoy the experience, Harris began to relax and quickly found his pace.

"When it started, I would say my heart rate was elevated but no part of me worried about doing well or the number I would reach," Harris said. "I didn't even think about the other competitors until they called seven minutes left. I looked down at my tray and thought 'have I even eaten anything?'. I looked to my left and saw how far they were into the tray. Seeing what they are able to do and how quickly they are able to do it was impressive. I "knew" it was hard, but it's ridiculous how hard it really is."

Harris also impressed a few of his competitors with his ability to eat wings at a quicken pace without making a mess. Many of the competitors had sauce covering their jerseys as they plowed through their tray of wings. Harris' jersey on the other hand was nearly pristine.

"Badlands was an event unto himself," Harris said. "He was smothering his face with bites of wings and making a mess everywhere. I had two dots of wing sauce on the left side of my shirt which came from Badlands. After it was over, one of the restaurant owners gave me a hard time because I didn't get any sauce on me. I told him I was from Buffalo. I know how to eat wings without making a mess."

Although there is a wing count at the end, no one is actually tallying the number of wings each competitor is eating as they do in other events like the Nathans Hot Dog Eating Championship. Rather, they weigh the trays before distributing them to the competitors and weigh the trays again after the 12-minute eating period. Based on the weight, they estimate the number of wings that were eaten.

James Webb, a native of Australia, won the event with a count of 276 wings (average of 23 wins per minute) with runner up Joey Chestnut sporting a final count of 240 wings. Harris ended the day with 57 wings eaten which was surpassed his goal of 50 wings.

"I felt that it was a good day," Harris said. "I accomplished both goals of surpassing 50 wings and also leaving the competition be able to function normally without getting sick. If I pushed the pace I might have been able to eat maybe 10 or 15 more wings. But at the pace I kept, I was able to walk around with my family after it was over and I felt normal."

Perhaps what was most memorable for Harris was the support he received from his family and friends, many of whom were in the crowd cheering for him through the competition.
"My family was in the back and I heard other people cheering for me with them," Harris said. "My two sisters and my best friend were right in front of the stage so it was cool to have everyone there. I enjoyed watching my father soak everything in and really enjoy the day."

And, he was also thankful for all the support he received from his Fairfield University colleagues and student-athletes.

"I appreciated everyone coming up to me before and wishing me well and after asking me how I did," Harris said. "I noticed that on the Instagram Live stream that one of the volleyball players commented 'Go Mike!' so that was really nice to see."

He is also grateful for those who supported him by making a donation to the Sports Performance program. Individuals may still make a donation by clicking here.

The support Harris received from his competitors, his family, and the University community made this unique chance even more special and memorable for him.

"This was a once in lifetime opportunity that I would have regretted if I did not do it," Harris said. "I knew that I would not have the opportunity again so I am glad I was able to take advantage of it. Being able to experience this with people I care about made it a lot more fun than just checking it off my list."