When a judge or referee has an unfair vested interest in a potential winner, it can lead to a type of bias that's called "home cooking." Reba McEntire could've had such an advantage at the third annual Hillbilly Chili Cook Off, considering it was judged by her boyfriend, Rex Linn.
Instead of winning in controversial fashion, McEntire finished dead last.
"Well, for some reason, I guess I left out all the spices," McEntire told "CBS Mornings." "But man, I was dumping chili powder and hatch green chilis in there. And I thought, 'Man, this is going to do it.' It was from a Texas recipe. I was so excited."
McEntire still won a trophy as the fourth-place finisher. It was a booby prize, though.
"Rex was one of the judges, and he came and whispered it in my ear. He said, 'I'm so sorry.' [I said], 'Are you gonna tell me who won?' [He said,] 'Well, it's not you.' So he handed me the trophy, and it was a chili pepper in the toilet," McEntire added. "And so mine took a dump."
Country fans will recognize the second-place finisher. It's none other than '90s star Terri Clark. Her No. 1 hits include "If I Were You" (1996), "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (1996) and "In My Next Life" (2007).
This coming Sunday (Feb. 11), McEntire will appear on one of the biggest stages in all of popular culture. She'll sing the national anthem before the kickoff of this year's Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs will compete in this year's big game against the San Francisco 49ers.
McEntire's national anthem gig comes 50 years after her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at an Oklahoma rodeo led to her first breaks as a country singer.
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