More than anything, athletes are creatures of habit. Not necessarily good habits mind you, but habits nonetheless. For instance, Red Sox legend Wade Boggs (revered as much for his prolific drinking exploits as his five American League batting titles) made sure to eat the same meal—chicken—before each of his 2,439 MLB games. Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley follows a similar routine, enjoying a pregame feast of wings, fries and mac and cheese, all procured from a local carwash.
“He’s pretty simple,” said Falcons assistant equipment manager Kenny Osuwah, who is tasked with placing Ridley's pregame order. “It’s lemon-pepper wings, all flats, just a little bit of French fries and some macaroni and cheese. And then boom, he’s ready to go.”
Ridley appears to have inspired a trend within the Falcons’ locker room. “I have like 6-7 guys calling me on the way to the stadium before a game like, ‘Make sure Kenny gets me some wings too,’” said Ridley, who was selected with the 26th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft following a distinguished career at Alabama. “Now everyone wants wings before the game.”
Ridley may eat like a college kid with the munchies, but you can’t argue with his results. The 26-year-old broke out for a career-high 1,374 yards last season, fifth-most behind Stefon Diggs, Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins and Justin Jefferson. It probably wouldn’t kill the fourth-year wideout to mix in a vegetable here and there, but a little carbo-loading never hurt anyone, right, Michael Scott?
Also, what is it with Atlanta and wings?
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