Lucky Chips & Salsa (AKA: How the Seahawks Beat the Saints)

I helped the Seahawks beat the Saints today. Well, me and some chips and salsa.

No, for real. I even tweeted about it during the game. This first tweet was posted at halftime when the Seahawks were winning 24-20.

http://twitter.com/#!/mattmcgee/status/23879177795014657

When the Saints took a 10-0 lead, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the salsa from the fridge, put some in a tupperware bowl, grabbed the bag of tortilla chips and went back to the game. The Seahawks outscored New Orleans 24-10 after that to take the halftime lead.

You may think to yourself, “Coincidence!” Au contraire, mon frere. Keep reading.

After I put the chips and salsa away, the Hawks kept winning through the 3rd quarter. They scored 10 more points and had a 34-20 lead. And since we were planning to go out for dinner as a family, I was glad to not eat more because I didn’t want to spoil my appetite.

And then the game got close again. They needed me, appetite loss or not. New Orleans cut the lead to 34-30 in the 4th quarter and I had no choice.

http://twitter.com/#!/mattmcgee/status/23903749692985344

And I kid you not … it was a matter of minutes later that Marshawn Lynch manned up and ran 67 yards (Most. Amazing Run. Ever.) to give the Seahawks an insurmountable lead. Game over! Seattle won 41-36. And I started getting tweet replies (from both friends and strangers!) all talking about my lucky chips and salsa.

http://twitter.com/#!/tassoula/status/23894802605019136

http://twitter.com/#!/UpWorks/status/23906278497583105

http://twitter.com/#!/cnctNow/status/23904272299073536

http://twitter.com/#!/andybeal/status/23907328445120513

That’s just some of the responses. Clearly, people understand the power of the lucky chips and salsa. But no one knows the back story. So I’ll explain….

History of the Lucky Chips and Salsa

2005

The Seahawks had their best season ever in 2005, going to the Super Bowl and coming up short against the referees and the Steelers. It was an amazing season that just kept getting better and better with each win.

At some point, I started eating chips and salsa during the Seahawks games and noticed that they kept winning whenever I did. It was an off-brand salsa that we bought at Wal-Mart (that might be redundant, huh?) and I don’t remember the name anymore. But it was good. And the Seahawks were, too.

2006-2009

I kept eating the same chips and salsa during the 2006 season, but the Seahawks didn’t keep winning … so clearly the chips and salsa had lost their magical capabilities. I didn’t bother with them anymore.

And so that was it for the next couple years. The Seahawks have been pretty bad and I haven’t been eating chips and salsa during the games.

Fast forward to last Sunday…

2010

Technically, 2011 … but the 2010 season. Last Sunday, the Seahawks were playing St. Louis for the NFC West title. It was a Sunday night game and, without really thinking about it, I grabbed some chips and salsa to eat during the game.

What happened? Nothing, except the Seahawks played as well as they could with a backup QB, beat the Rams, and won the division.

The magic chips and salsa were back! Only, this was someone’s homemade salsa that my wife brought home from the real estate office. And wow, it’s great! And wow, so were the Seahawks last week.

So, what else could I do when the Hawks fell behind 10-0 today? And again when the game got close in the 4th quarter?? I did what any other 12th Man would’ve done — I took one for the team!

(Actually, I took a couple dozen for the team. Yummmm!)

Conclusion

It’s strange to think that chips and salsa could have such an impact on an NFL team, but the connections are obvious, don’t you think?

😉