Philadelphia fans looking to escape their sorrows after the end of the Phillies' season on Saturday night needn't have looked any further than that abandoned pier near Walmart. That's where, at noon on Sunday, a crowd of hundreds gathered to witness an enterprising man eat a big lunch.
Alexander Tominsky, a 31-year-old server at a Philly steakhouse, has been doing a bit on his Twitter where he claims to eat a rotisserie chicken every single day. (He posts a different photo with the chicken each day, too, which adds some plausible authenticity to his accomplishments.) Near the end of last month, Tominsky posted a flyer advertising a public devouring of his 40th consecutive rotisserie chicken, at said pier. "THIS IS NOT A PARTY," the flyer made sure to note.
The publicity for the event went locally viral, as this brand of goofiness tends to do, but what set Tominsky's gag apart from so much internet absurdism is that it actually turned into a genuine public gathering. Lost souls flocked to the pier to witness the 40th chicken be eaten.
Tominsky, true to his word, ate the bird. But it wasn't easy. Whether it was showmanship, nerves, or a legitimate tummyache, the Poultry Powerhouse ran into some trouble mid-meal. But a concerned crowd, unable to take another disappointment, gave him constant encouragement.
Tominsky did not lay an egg. As his well-wishers and family surrounded him, believing in his ability to get this chicken into his stomach, Tominsky took a celebratory final few bites until the fowl was finally finshed.
"I'm no hero, I'm but a man," a full Tominsky told his disciples. "I ate the chicken. I did the best I can."
I'd like to see Yordan Álvarez try and do that.