Though he won't be eating in this year's event, Bill "El Wingador" Simmons will be making his return to Friday's Wing Bowl 24.
Ever since his release from prison last year, Bill "El Wingador" Simmons said he has been working to rebuild his life.
And though he won't be competing in 94WIP's Wing Bowl 24 on Friday, the five-time champion is nonetheless excited to be co-commentating the event alongside Philadelphia talk-radio host Angelo Cataldi.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman will be in attendance this year, Simmons said.
Simmons, who was released from prison in May 2015 after serving two years of a seven-year sentence for cocaine distribution, said, "I am excited to be coming back."
"I'll be on the radio, talking about how (the competitors) should be feeling ... the strategies, and hopefully, I'll get a plate of wings while I'm talking," Simmons said with a chuckle.
Simmons told NJ Advance Media last year that his career in competitive eating was over and that instead he would be concentrating on his health and his family.
But when the competitors begin chowing down on Friday, a part of him, he said, will miss being out on the floor going for the title.
"I'll be there saying ... 'I wish I were younger,'" he said, laughing.
He hopes he is received warmly by the crowd on Friday, but he wasn't going to worry about that, as he said he cannot control how people feel about him and what he did.
"It's out of my hands," he said. "(People) are entitled to their opinions, but I can't do anything about it other than stay on the straight path. All I can do is to move forward; if they can see that I'm moving forward that would be great, but I am still going to be there with a smile, and be genuine about it."
"It's about the eaters," he said.
Since his release, Simmons said his life has been going well.
Simmons was arrested in June 2012 after a motor vehicle stop led police to find Simmons in possession of $8,000 worth of cocaine and $4,000 in cash.
He is still on parole and will be for the next three years, but he said he is doing the right thing and trying to do well by his children.
He is also in the process finishing a book about his life, which he expects to be completed in about six to eight months.
"Things are good in my life," he said. "I see my kids every day, which is so important to me ... I don't look at anything negatively, anywhere. I enjoy a sunny day, I enjoy a smile, I look at the good in everything."
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.