When I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I spent many a night listening to legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn talk about putting a guy in the 'popcorn machine' when said player was faked off his feet on defense.  Other than that, I haven't heard of too many connections to the great fluffy snack and basketball.  Until now.

In Des Moines the other night, a game between West Des Moines High and crosstown rival West Des Moines Dowling High was delayed more than 20 minutes after halftime because a malfunctioning popcorn machine filled the gym with smoke, setting off smoke detectors and forcing some 2,700 fans to go outside into the bitter cold.

Eventually, the machine was unplugged, the building was aired out and the teams returned to action.  First time right?  Nope.  According to MaxPreps, the school had suffered through two previous popcorn-related delays in the 1990s.

Maybe pretzels next time?

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