America is more divided than ever with many saying we’ve lost the ability to have a civil debate. We at FTW set out to prove that it’s still possible for adults in this country to respectfully disagree — and we failed miserably.
With Halloween approaching, we’ve got candy on the brain because ultimately we’re all just children who learned to drive and find employment. We decided to approach one of the most pressing gastronomic questions of our time by doing what all great thinkers do when trying to tackle the toughest questions of human existence: We had a draft.
Five members of the For The Win staff put their reputations and pride on the line to try and build the best Halloween candy bucket possible.
Draft Order
1. Caroline Darney
2. Andy Nesbitt
3. Christian D’Andrea
4. Matt Scalici
5. Blake Schuster
We’ll take you through our picks round by round below or you can listen to a completely ridiculous recording of the draft as it happened live on Twitter.
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) October 26, 2022
Round 1
Caroline: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Andy: Gobstoppers
Christian: Skittles
Matt: SweeTarts
Blake: KitKat
The candy that started a heated discussion among FTW staff last week goes first overall in our 2022 draft. Reese’s is not for everyone (notably the author of this post) but it is fiercely beloved by its fans. Andy and Matt both received heavy guffaws for their picks, not because the choices themselves aren’t widely liked but because most seem to feel they were undeserving of a first-round pick. Christian and Blake both come away with almost universally loved (if a little safe) picks in the first round.
Round 2
Caroline: M&M
Andy: Runts
Christian: Twix
Matt: Snickers
Blake: Laffy Taffy
Some longtime favorites come off the board in Round 2, including chocolate bar mainstays Snickers and Twix, and Caroline gets perhaps the biggest steal of the entire draft as her choice of M&M’s includes both regular M&M’s and all the filled variants as well. Andy continues to baffle analysts with his choices.
Round 3
Caroline: Starburst
Andy: Alexander the Grapes
Christian: Sour Patch Kids
Matt: Haribo Gummi
Blake: Cadbury
The GMs were clearly looking for something chewy in the third round, with Caroline, Christian and Matt all going with popular gummy and/or taffy-like options. Andy reached deep for his pick that left analysts speechless and fiercely googling to find out what exactly this grape-flavored candy even is. Blake, meanwhile, quietly picked up huge value by taking the entire Cadbury chocolate universe, a nice pickup from across the pond.
Round 4
Caroline: Mike & Ikes
Andy: Dots
Christian: Butterfinger
Matt: 100 Grand
Blake: Twizzlers
Our drafters seemed to trend toward classic candies in our final round with throwbacks like Mike & Ike, Twizzlers, and even Dots getting picked up to finish off our teams. Christian caps off a solid team with every 90s kid’s favorite candy bar while Matt goes for some complexity with 100 Grand, a candy bar Andy derided as “gimmicky”.
Final Results
The rosters are set. Find us on social media and tell us who you think came away with the best overall team (don’t say Andy).
Team Caroline: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M&Ms, Starburst, Mike & Ikes
Team Andy: Gobstoppers, Runts, Alexander the Grapes, Dots
Team Christian: Skittles, Twix, Sour Patch Kids, Butterfinger
Team Matt: SweeTarts, Snickers, Haribo Gummi, 100 Grand
Team Blake: KitKat, Laffy Taffy, Cadbury, Twizzlers
