Junk Food Nation, Happy Lunar New Year!  Gone is the year of the dragon, arrived is the year of the horse – WOOT WOOT.  So let’s get to this Super Bowl on Sunday.  I talked about what I’ll be eating yesterday, but who’s gonna win?  Let me break it down for you:

BAD OMENS FOR PEYTON MANNING: Saw this list of facts on Sportscenter – in 47 Super Bowls, no QB has ever won a Super Bowl with two different teams.  There are a LOT of similarities between Peyton Manning and another great QB, Kurt Warner.  Both won their first Super Bowls.  Both lost their second Super Bowls as the favorite going in.  Both threw key pick-6s in the loss.  Both were/are 37 years old going into their 3rd Super Bowl.  And both faced the top scoring defense in their 3rd Super Bowl….Kurt Warner and the Cardinals ended up losing.  Will Peyton follow this, and also lose?

GOOD OMENS FOR SEATTLE: Here’s some more facts I heard over the radio and TV over the past two weeks.  The top defense has played in the Super Bowl 15 times in history, and they are 12-3 lifetime.  The top defense has played the top offense four times in history, the last time being 1990 with the top O Buffalo Bills and the top D New York Giants (ugh, wide right), and in those four matchups, the top D has won three of four.  The teams with the best records in the AFC and NFC have matched up eight times.  Nate Silver, the genius statistician who correctly predicted the 2012 election with alarming accuracy down to the percentages, predicts the Seahawks will win.  That’s all bad for the Broncos, all good for the Seahawks. Plus, I myself also predicted the Seahawks would win at the beginning of the year.  Of course, I had them beating the Patriots…never considered a matchup between Denver and Seattle.  And so…

WHY I BELIEVE THE BRONCOS WILL WIN: My thing with Peyton Manning is and has always been he can’t play in cold weather.  Hands get cold, and his normal ducks that he throws just end up off target. With Indy, he always played in domes.  The Super Bowl that he won vs. Chicago: In Miami, 67 degrees F.  The playoff game that he lost vs. the Ravens in Denver: 13 degrees F, or below freezing.  So how have the conditions been this year, weather wise, for Peyton?  Versus the Chargers: 41 degrees F.  Versus the Patriots: 63 degrees F.  And the projected forecast in New York this weekend?  44 degrees F, no rain.  While the matchup is close (Broncos favored by -2.5), I believe the weather is lining up for a great Peyton Manning day. He hasn’t had to play in cold weather this year, and he won’t have to Sunday.

PLUS THE ULTIMATE OMEN: Um, hello, didn’t you read the first thing I wrote?  It’s THE YEAR OF THE HORSE.  The Broncos are a bunch of mustangs.  LOCK IT UP, PEOPLE.  THE EAST ASIAN CALENDAR HAS SPOKEN.  <cue Seattle fans mocking me in comments…..and GO!>

ONE MORE THING: I actually have no rooting interest in the game, being a Buffalo Bills fan, so if Seattle wins, I’ll be fine too 🙂  Who do YOU predict will win?  Tell me in the comments below.

Today’s junk food: Chex Chips!!

Chex Chips!  NUH UH!  YUH HUH!  I’m twelve years old, apparently.  We discussed Chex Chips over on the Nosh Show a few weeks ago, and I think I was one of the only hosts who said they would NOSH.  And why not?  The best part of Chex Mix is DUH THE CHEX.  Not the damn pretzels and weird cracker sticks that don’t hold any flavor AT ALL.  It’s the Chex cereal with all the little crevices that powder can stick to.  So you’re gonna take those, blow them up, and throw MORE flavor powder on them???  I’m IN!

First up: Cinnamon and Sugar Chex Chips!

I put in the Oreo wafer as a size comparison for ALL of these flavors.  These Chex Chips were a deent size, and the bag held a lot of them.  As for these Cinnamon and Sugar Chex Chips, they tasted GREAT – very sweet and very cinnamon-y.  Like the best Chex cereal in the world.  Like a light churro – big thumbs up here.

Next up: Cheddar Jalapeno Chex Chips!

Cheddar Jalapeno Chex Chips were probably my least favorite of the four, despite the pretty standard flavor.  And to be clear – they weren’t bad.  They just weren’t as SUPER CHEESY as I wanted them to be.  The first bite did give some nice cheddar tang and cheesiness, but that eventually faded as a strong pepper flavor emerged as well as general onion and garlic powder flavors.  These tasted like a lighter version of Bugles.  Not horrible, again, and tasted exactly how I thought they would – I just wanted MORE POP.

Third up: Wasabi Chex Chips!

These Wasabi Chex Chips blew me away, and you’ll like them if you’re a fan of wasabi.  Which I’m not really.  And I STILL liked them.  When I placed a Chex Chip in my mouth, it was slightly sour at first and then BURST with wasabi horseradish flavor.  AMAZING wasabi flavor.  Made me mouth tingle and my eyes widened with surprise.  But then, as soon as it hit, it cooled off, and the leftover taste was nice and savory.

I REALLY enjoyed these.  But not as much as the….Caramelized Onion Chex Chips!

I’ll just say it – these Caramelized Onion Chex Chips tasted like Funyuns.  They JUST. DID.  And I LOVE FUNYUNS.  GREAT sweet onion flavor; there is no mistaking what flavor this was.  Nice and light and crispy, it was like eating the lightest fried onion petal ever.  Top notch flavor – simple yet powerful.  Yummy.

For ALL the flavors, the texture was exactly as you’d expect – it was like eating a giant Chex.  A light crispy, airpocket-filled crisp.  Lighter than Bugles, and sort of like a light pork rind.  But covered in TONS OF FLAVOR.

I know these descriptions of the Chex Chips aren’t the longest, but it’s because the flavor profiles are pretty straightforward.  I’ve only seen these being sold in 7-eleven, so if you’re looking for them, stick to gas station / convenience stores.

My ranking: 1) Caramelized Onion, 2) Wasabi, 3) Cinnamon Sugar, 4) Cheddar Jalapeno.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday, everyone!  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on Facebook – I’ll be tweeting and Instagramming all game long!  Would love to interact with a bunch of you!

PURCHASED AT: 7-eleven

COST: $1.70, on sale for $1.00 a bag

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy