Giant Burger to be Featured on Food Network Show:
The Fifth Third Burger gained worldwide attention when it made its debut at the ballpark in April 2009. National networks such as NBC, CBS, CNBC, Fox News and ESPN all showed the burger on air, and news reports of the burger came from as far away as Australia, England, France, South Korea, South Africa and Colombia in South America. The monstrous sandwich consists of five one-third pound beef patties (five thirds of a pound, named after Fifth Third Ballpark), nacho cheese, chili, salsa, crunched tortilla chips, tomato and lettuce served on a special 8-inch sesame seed bun. The entire burger weighs in at almost 5 pounds and consists of 4,889 calories and 299.5 grams of fat. It is served in a pizza box and sliced pizza-style for families or friends to share.
In two baseball seasons, 3,253 Fifth Third Burgers have been served to fans, and 761 have attempted the Fifth Third Burger Challenge to eat the entire burger by themselves within the time frame of the baseball game. A total of 483 people have won the challenge, earning a commemorative "I Did It!" t-shirt and their photo on the Wall of Champs at the ballpark. Burger Challenge competitors have come from 17 states and six countries (Chile, Philippines, Pakistan, France, Canada and the U.S.) on four continents to conquer the burger, so it's no wonder that it has grabbed the attention of food-related TV shows such as Man v. Food and now Unwrapped.
Food Network's Unwrapped reveals the origins of foods, from where the tiny marshmallows in your breakfast cereal come from to behind-the-scenes details on the making of bubble gum. Host Marc Summers explores the test kitchens and the secrets behind such foods as lunch box treats, soda pop, and now the Fifth Third Burger. The show first aired in 2001.
Summers is a former host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare, What Would You Do? and Pick Your Brain, and former host of Lifetime's daily lifestyle series Our Home. In addition to hosting Food Network's "Unwrapped",he is a host and judge of Food Network's "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" and serves as executive producer of Food Network's popular primetime show "Dinner: Impossible."
The Unwrapped crew and Summers will tape behind-the-scenes footage during the afternoon on Friday and then tape action in the Burger Challenge area and crowd footage during the high school football game.
Unwrapped airs on Monday evenings at 8:30 p.m. on Food Network. The air date for the Fifth Third Burger segment has not been announced. As soon as the air date is determined, it will be posted on Fifth Third Ballpark's website (fifththirdballpark.com) and the Whitecaps' website (whitecapsbaseball.com).
The game is serving as a fundraiser for the Rockford High School Athletic Department, tickets are $7.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. Tickets are available at the Fifth Third Ballpark ticket office, by calling 616-784-4131, online at fifththirdballpark.com or whitecapsbaseball.com. Game time is 7:00 pm and the gates open at 5:30 pm.
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