Surfin' Chili 2002: Lucky 13

For the first time since 1992, a first place trophy for Showmanship! That's our eighth Showmanship trophy in 12 years. A first place ribbon for Grapefruit, our seventh overall and our first since 1990, the original Surfin Chili team (Tim's the Devil!). An unprecedented fourth straight first place ribbon for Space Trivia - and no team in the 24 year history of the JSC FOD Chili Cookoff had even won three in a row. We rocked.

Taking home the Trivia prize	Steph, Dave, and Dan - "Da roof! Da roof! Da roof is on fire!"

A little for the chili, a little for the cooks...

Always the innovators - we pioneered "Burma Shave" signs, Jell-O shots (and Jell-o shot Twister), Mardi Gras beads, booth balconies, and temporary tattoos to the cookoff - this year we added Tom's Jello-shot Delivery System (JDS). Leave it to an engineer to take some PVC pipe, some copper tubing, a cooler full of ice water, and a pump, and put together a refrigerated Jello shot dispenser.

Our skit this year skewered our usual range of targets: Jefferson Howell and the ISS Program Office, a takeoff of "Willy Wonka". We took on the post-9/11 security checks, the new JSC Center Director, Enron, Britney Spears, Osama bin Laden, ISS funding problems, and new NASA Director Sean O'Keefe. We must have done something right, we won the Showmanship trophy, right?

Amid the usual cherry bombs and Jell-O shot Twister, Surfin' Chili surfed to another successful year. Team captains Lisa, Sally, and Stephanie shared the trophy with Surfin Chili Dude. We're ready to defend our title in 2003...