Representin' Sweet Swine

So, by now, most of you have heard about the infamous Sweet Swine Pork Rind lady from Maryland who claimed to have hit the Mega Millions jackpot. So, far there hasn't been proof that she won anything except for some free air time and the World's Most Peculiar Hat award.

The whole thing was bizarre enough. I mean, here's a woman who claims to have a winning lottery ticket worth over $100 million. An even though her coworkers claim to have pooled their money together for the ticket, Mrs. Swine Swine says that she bought the winning ticket on her own. So, she hires an attorney and attends a "press conference" where she sits silent (with the exception of taking a brief cell phone call). First she claims to the winning ticket locked up in a safe, then she changes her story and says that she lost it. In the meantime, an anonymous woman finally comes forward and produces the elusive winning ticket.

But here's the thing that really puzzles me. Why would someone at the center of a media spectacle and come to a press conference wearing a Sweet Swine Pork Rinds hat? I'm no fashion expert, but I'm pretty sure it's a no-no to wear sweatpants and Pork Rinds hat to what would turn out to be a nationally broadcast press conference. I haven't seen a fashion statement like this since The Bad News Bears donned those Chico's Bail Bonds uniforms back in '76.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea, I'm not bashing pork rinds at all. In fact, I'm been known to tear up a bag every now and then. My personal favorite is the salt and vinegar variety. I sometimes get a strange look from bartenders when I say, "Give me a Sam Adams Noble Pils and a bag of barbarque pork rinds." My biggest beef with pork rinds is that every once in a while you'll get one that's hard enough to crack a molar. But that's a story for another day......

So anyway, I got a little curious about the Sweet Swine company and decided to check out their website. Well, just when I thought that it couldn't get any more bizarre, it turns out that www.sweetswineporkrinds.com actually takes you to an anti-Mitt Romney website. The site was created by an Alabama blogger in response to the recent story about Romney transporting the family dog in a crate on top of his station wagon back in 1983.

From what I understand, the woman who intrigued us with the Sweet Swine hat really had no political agenda at all. In fact when asked by the Baltimore Sun where she got the hat, she replied, "I don't remember."  It sounds a little fishy to me. This hat would, no doubt, be a recurring conversation starter. So how could you possibly forget where you got a trucker's hat with a gigantic Sweet Swine logo on the front? And I still don't understand what the woman's purpose was for all of this. Was this a desperate attempt to acquire her fifteen minutes of fame? Or, since she happened to be a McDonald's employee, was this simply publicity stunt for the new and improved McRib sandwich??

Nonetheless, seizing an opportunity for his own publicity, the anti-Romney guy from Alabama purchased the Sweet Swine domain name for $9.99 shortly after the infamous press conference. I have to give it to him, that's some pretty quick thinking on his part. But luring a carnivorous person like myself to a bogus pork site is just mean. Expanding on the idea, the guy is now selling his own Sweet Swine hats via the website. Could this be the start of a new urban fashion trend?

But I'm still left wondering, "Is there really such a thing as Sweet Swine Pork Rinds?" To my dismay, I have not been able to find an actual company with this name. But I refuse to be discouraged and will continue to search. If anyone happens finds the real Sweet Swine, please send me a bag of their rinds. And if you really want to show your love, throw me one of those hats too.....

kw