How to ‘homegate’ this season as a Los Angeles Rams fan with the perfect wings!

There’s always been this stigma or belief that the best way to watch football is to be there at the stadium in person — and for millions of fans, this is undoubtedly true. Just as countless people like to go to music festivals instead of listening through earbuds, or go to the movie theater instead of streaming at home ... so too do folks compare watching sports in person vs. viewing it on TV.

However, I’ve always been a “watch the game on TV” kind of person and that experience only gets better with each passing season.

Every fan has a right to enjoy the NFL as they want to enjoy it and that extends to those of you who are like me and have always preferred avoiding traffic, insane ticket prices, $35 for drinks and snacks, and the long drive home. Instead, we can:

• Watch all the games at once without ever leaving the couch
• Save copious amounts of money on food that is as good or better than the stadium
• The beer is a hell of a lot cheaper, too
• Take all the naps you want without security ever bothering you

Over the past few years, the number of people in my home during NFL Sunday has grown by one and we immediately fell into a key tradition for what to eat — essentially how to “homegate” instead of tailgate — and that is traditional Buffalo hot wings. My favorite food. But it is my favorite food made even better by the experience of us making it at home and we are going up another level this year thanks to a new purchase.

A Breville joule oven air fryer pro. No, Breville is not today’s sponsor, but given the amount of money that I paid for it, you’re damn straight that I’m going to get my money’s worth even if that means plugging the fancy air fryer that I bought to make all my meals in this season.

The perfect chicken wings

We have always used the same simple recipe for chicken wings, the air fryer just helps us up the quality of the cook method and the Bluetooth capabilities with the Breville app guides the entire process with little effort from me; I can turn the air fryer off/on/heat it up/start a timer and more without ever standing up from watching the games on TV.

Ingredients for the best hot wings:

2 lb chicken wing drummettes and flats (I prefer the flats)

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

¹⁄₂ tsp black pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

Frank’s red hot

Steps:

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients, think about how the Rams won the Super Bowl
2. Sprinkle the dry over the wings and toss them until completely covered while considering Aaron Donald’s dominance of the last eight years
3. Lay wings out evenly on roasting pan and broiling rack then cover with parchment and foil, but also ask yourself if Matthew Stafford can win MVP this season if he throws 50 TDs
4. Insert wire rack into the air fryer and start preheat; note that Sean McVay is probably already in the Hall of Fame, which is insane; put pan in oven once brought up to 325 degrees for 30 minutes
5. Remove wings and transfer to air fryer basket, then place back into the air fryer for 25 minutes. As you do this, remember that Jalen Ramsey is the best cornerback in football.
6. Remove when the wings are golden, add extra time if still pale, and thank your lucky stars for Cooper Kupp falling to the third round
7. Drench in Frank’s, dip in ranch, and watch the Rams run it back

That’s basically how we homegate every single Sunday, with a plate of chicken wings, but this time we will have a little bit of assistance from an upgraded machine. Some would even say that getting an assistance from an upgraded machine at quarterback is how the L.A. Rams won the Super Bowl last year.

Let’s see if they can whip it up again, but even better.

Presented by Coca-Cola