Beating Ravens = Taking Candy From A Baby (Contest!)

There’s nothing like the smell of playoffs in the air.  Everywhere you go in Pittsburgh, there are signs to remind you of this weekend’s impending contest with the Baltimore Ravens.  You cannot escape it.  This city lives and breathes their Steelers.

If you’re like me, you walk a fine line between cautiously optimistic and absolute wreck.  I’m not some Rainman-like savant, although it would come in handy if the North Shore Casino was ever finished.  I’m not a superstitious person by nature (I own a black cat and yes, his collar is gold) but playoff time seems to kick my OCD reflex into high gear.

Walking around downtown, the assortment of scraggly unshaven faces tell me I’m not the only one like this.  A Playoff Beard is only my first concession to a successful post season run.  Does anybody else wear the exact same shirt week after week if the Steelers continue to win?  The same pants?   Same underwear?  C’mon, I can’t be the only one.

When I watch ESPN and hear the talking heads jumping aboard the Pittsburgh bandwagon or see things like the current cover of Sports Illustrated, I get nervous.  When email buddies from inferior NFL cities tell me they have a feeling the Steeler are going to the…  I have to stop them and shush them up, lest their words jinx the team.

I was thinking back to the last time the Ravens and Steelers faced off.  There was a lot on the line that crisp December day.  The AFC North title.  A guaranteed spot in the playoffs.  A first round bye.

And a couple pair of Steeler Crocs.

To that end, I thought if a contest riding on the game brought the Steelers luck last time, we HAVE to do something similar this time.  Cue the people at Mars Snackfood, makers of fine chocolate candies.  Through my ever-growing influence and their kind generosity, we’re teaming up to announce the first ever Beating The Ravens Is Like Taking Candy From A Baby M&M Contest.

These aren’t any plain ordinary M&M’S, though.  These are officially licensed Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Blends M&M’S.  Mars has reached an agreement with the NFL to produce a line of My Team M&M’S which are customized with the logos and colors for every team in the league.  How cool is the Steeler version (pictured above)?

Whether it’s a gift for that special fan in your life, adding team spirit to your baked goods, or serving a really unique snack at your Steeler Sunday party, these are guaranteed to be a big hit.  You can purchase them directly from the My M&M’S website in either 7-oz bags or a 5-pound box.

You can also win some from me.  The people at Mars have kindly gifted you lucky NPC readers a chance at not one not two but FIVE 7-oz bags (retail price $12.99 each) of these customized Steeler M&M’S.   All you have to do is what you did last time.  Guess the TOTAL NUMBER OF POINTS you expect to see scored this Sunday in the AFC Championship game.  In other words, dream up a final score, add the numbers together, and post that guess IN THE COMMENTS.

If your guess is grossly incompetent, your sweet tooth will still have a shot at winning as I’ll take all the participants, put their names in my Steeler ball cap, and pick a 2nd winner.  One guess, two shots at winning.  Each winner gets five bags and I’ll contact them for their addresses and info after the contest is over.

I received a sample of these M&M’S and let me tell you I’m not only a hero at work for sharing the coolness, I can’t wait for this weekend when my friends and family get a load of my find.  So put your thinking caps on and enter the first annual BRLTCFB M&M Contest!  I really need to come up with a shorter name for this thing…

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, candy, candy contest, contest, free stuff, hot chicks, m&ms, mars snackfood, nfl contest, nfl playoffs, ocd rainman, pittsburgh steelers, playoff beard, playoff contest, playoff superstitions, Steelers, sweet tooth