Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Green Chile Fightin' Words

My colleague Patrick Malone just pointed out this Denver Post blog post by Lynn Bartels (a former Albuquerque Tribune reporter) in which the very integrity of New Mexico is being questioned.

A Colorado legislator, Sen. Larry Crowder, R-Alamosa, is challenging "any New Mexico legislator who is a fifth-generation resident of that state" to a chile cook-off. Crowder is a fifth-generation Coloradan, Bartels explained,

Bartels quotes Crowder: “I am a connoisseur of green chile. I understand the difference between New Mexico and Colorado green chile. I love New Mexico chile, but I also love Colorado chile. It’s not so much the chile as it is the cook.”

Crowder, for reeasons I'm not quite sure of, said he prefers the judges be religious leaders from either state.

This all goes back, of course to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's Superbowl bet, which involved green chile -- as if that were some kind of a Colorado trademark. This angered many New Mexicans, as well as God, who caused the Denver Broncos to lose in a humiliating manner.

OK, New Mexico Legislature. Which fifth-generation New Mexican is going to step up and defend the state's honor?