Life In The Cell

Isiah Thomas, Self-Proclaimed Fan of Popcorn

So there I was sitting with some friends when the topic of Isiah Thomas came up. I argued that he’s one of the best point guards ever, I’d be willing to even say he’s in the top-3 all-time. Anyway, that’s a topic of discussion for another day, this debate, though, ended up with the discovery of one of the funniest Wikipedia pages I have ever seen…

On Isiah Thomas’ page under the Other sub-section is this gem:

Thomas, a self-proclaimed fan of popcorn who has served as the official spokesperson for National Popcorn Poppin’ Month, is a partner in the New York-based gourmet-popcorn chain Dale and Thomas Popcorn. It was known as “Popcorn, Indiana”, prior to his investment. The company currently has thirteen stores, plus online and mail-order operations.

This naturally led to some further research; namely, when eactly is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month? Also, is there a National Popcorn Eatin’ Month? Finally, why the n’ instead of ng?

Unfortunately, I can only currently answer the first of those questions. National Popcorn Poppin’ Month is in October. If you are wondering why, it’s because “of the popcorn harvest which takes place each fall in the Midwest” at least according to popcorn.org. Now, I lived in Chicago for the first 19 years of my life and makes me wonder how I missed out on the annual popcorn harvest. I know about corn harvests, but the popcorn ones just went over my head, I guess.

After learning about that tasty little nugget of info, I decided to delve further into the world of popcorn as we know it. So naturally, I looked into Dale and Thomas Popcorn, Isiah’s (soon to be bankrupt) popcorn business venture. The only interesting thing about the company is that it was once known as Popcorn, Indiana even though it’s based out of Englewood, NJ. I assumed maybe it was logic like that that drew Isiah to this business that is until I read further and read a little about Isiah’s childhood. Again, I quote,

Growing up in a Chicago ghetto, a staple food in [Isiah's] family’s diet was popcorn due to its inexpensiveness. The 6’1”, 185 lbs. former Detroit Pistons basketball player was raised on popcorn.

I wonder if popcorn is still a staple of his diet. It got him this far, why not stick with a good thing? The one bone I have to pick with Isiah (I would pick a bone with his GM duties, but I’m a Bulls fan, and I would pick a bone with his running of the CBA, but I don’t really care) is why he is a “self-proclaimed fan of popcorn?” It seems slightly redundant because when you say you’re a fan of something, it’s assumed that you are the one proclaiming it. Oh well, maybe he just enjoys having the epithet. It is far better than Isiah Thomas, ruiner of the Knicks or Isiah Thomas, sexual harasser.

PS - Has anyone out there actually tried Dale and Thomas Popcorn or Popcorn, Indiana or both? Did Isiah sink a lot of money into a franchise only for it to become mediocre? Has Caramel Corn been banished from all home gam-, er, NYC? Seriously though, I’m curious if the popcorn is any good.