This morning, the Buffalo Bisons tweeted out this picture of a fan's fresh tattoo depicting Celery winning crossing the finish line with Chicken Wing and Bleu Cheese trailing behind.
#Bisons fan David M. is hoping '15 is the year for @BisonsCelery. Training is going well for Buffalo's fav. Veggie. pic.twitter.com/iAKoawmDGj
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) December 19, 2014
During every home game of the Blue Jays' triple-A affiliate down in Coca-Cola Field there is a mascot race between Atomic Wing, Bleu Cheese, Chicken Wing, and of course, Celery. Buffalo's Anchor Bar is thought to be the birthplace of the "Buffalo-style" chicken wing and is a big source of pride for Buffalonians.
The Wing, Cheese, Celery (or WCC) Race has been run 254 times since its establishment in 2011 and has been largely dominated by Chicken Wing, who won the title every year except in 2013, when Bleu Cheese pulled off the upset championship last season. There was quite a bit more parity in the 2014 race season, with Chicken Wing just squeaking by Bleu Cheese and Atomic Wing.
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Career | |
| Chicken Wing | 41 | 30 | 24 | 21 | 116 |
| Bleu Cheese | 26 | 21 | 25 | 20 | 92 |
| Atomic Wing | --* | 10 | 16 | 20 | 46 |
| Celery | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Atomic Wing did not begin competing until 2012
Unfortunately, Celery has not won a single race in his/her (the Bisons PR department insists to me that Celery is gender-neuter) career. Celery has come close several times, but has always come up short thanks to the devious actions of the other participants--and of course, the evil villain Carrot.
An infamous example came back in August 3, 2013, when yours truly--the official Bluebird Banter WCC Race senior correspondant--travelled down to Buffalo to cover the race on Celery Bobblehead Night. Here is an excerpt from my report that evening:
The race started, as always, in right-centre field going clockwise. Atomic Wing took a large lead at he beginning, but then Celery caught up and was in the lead around the turn, down the foul line. Celery still had a large lead past the right field bullpen, but the evil bully Carrot hopped into the race and tried to tackle her. Fortunately, the three other mascots in the race (Atomic Wing, Bleu Cheese, and Chicken Wing) protected Celery by pushing Carrot down and beating him up. They were cheering on as Celery ran unimpeded to the finish line, but then out of nowhere this happened:
Courtesy goldandorsmith.com, used with permission.
Chicken Wing just pretended to help Celery then, when she let her guard down, did the two-handed push to knock her down by the first base coach's box, exploiting her high centre of gravity. Chicken Wing then coasted to the finish with a stolen win. The dirty move of all dirty moves.
That push is now known simply as "The Shove" to Buffalonians. I even made a short film of the incident on Chicken Wing Bobblehead Day this past season.
Even if Celery never wins a race in real life, she has clearly already won the heart (or forearm) of one David M.