Despite his justly-earned reputation as the self-promoting “America’s Toughest Sheriff” running a no-frills jail system, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is providing the inmates at The Tent-City Jail, as well as all veterans who are incarcerated throughout the jail system, popcorn to enjoy as they watch the Super Bowl.
All of the more than 8,000 inmates in the Maricopa County Jails will have the opportunity to watch the game, though the popcorn is restricted to the approximately 700 inmates in the tents and the veterans.
“This treat is quite different from the inmates’ normal fare,” states Sheriff Arpaio. “While we serve vegetarian meals, that only cost us $1 a day to feed each inmate, I’ve taken away meat, salt and butter, to save the taxpayers money. So while they will get popcorn for this special event, they’ll be eating it without salt or butter.”
The Sheriff will be predicting the winner of the game Saturday morning at 10 am at the Sheriff’s Food Factory, as he pops the popcorn.
“I was born in Massachusetts and it’s no secret I’m a longtime New England Patriots’ fan,” Sheriff Arpaio says, “even though I ran the investigation that led to the arrest of a member of the team back in 1975 – forty years ago – on drugs charges, when I was a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official. But that was a long time ago, and this is a new day and a new team, and I’m rooting for them.”
In another case of Super Bowl coincidence, Sheriff Arpaio erected his famed “No Vacancy” sign in Tent-City 19 years ago, on January 22, the week before 1996’s Super Bowl XXX between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers. (The Cowboys won, 27-17.)
“Good ideas,” declares the Sheriff, “whether we’re talking about the Super Bowl or the tents and the sign, stand the test of time.”