Enough with the sauce. Let me tell you how Pigchaser got its name. In 2005 I was asked to fly into Tucson for business. My flight landed at the Tucson airport around 11:30pm. I was tired and hungry. My co-worker who was meeting me there caught an earlier flight. After the plane landed I gathered my bags, got into my rental car, and proceeded to drive out of the airport parking area. I was hungry and thirsty so I stopped to buy a burger and some beer. (No, I didn’t drink and drive) Since I never have been to or driven in Arizona before I forgot about the burger and concentrated on not missing my exit. It was dark and there weren’t highway lights like back home. An hour later I got off the freeway, made a few turns, and found myself driving up a long and winding driveway towards a hotel which was located on top of a hill. While making these turns my headlights caught a small animal running across the driveway. I could have sworn it was a pig. At this point I was asking myself what the heck I was getting into. I’m from Chicago. I see cats and dogs running but pigs?
I checked into the hotel, got my key and drove around the back to get to my room facing the desert. I hauled everything I owned up to my 2nd floor room and settled in. The first thing I did was open a beer and then stick the burger into the microwave. I opened up the sliding door to the balcony and stepped outside. The warm evening Arizona breeze was different. It smelled dry. The microwave beeped and I grabbed my sandwich. While alternating between sandwich and beer I saw that same little pig trotting in the parking lot not far from where I parked. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that this pig and I were going to have some fun. I put down my beer, high-tailed it out of the room, and bolted down the stairs until I was right in front of this pig. The pig took off and stupid me I followed it.
I chased it down a hiking path into the desert. After about a 1/8th mile I realized the parking lot lights didn’t cover a lot of ground. I stopped and figured it’s probably best if I go back because people would miss me in the morning if I didn’t show up for work. When I turned to go back this pig snarled and showed teeth! When I planted my foot to take off this little guy started chasing me. I ran like a little schoolgirl back to my hotel room three timing it up the stairs until I slammed the hotel room door shut. I went out on the balcony to see where this little guy was but he was gone.
The next day I explained my story to my new friends in the Mexico factory and my co-worker. The Mexican workers were laughing. I asked what was so funny. My co-worker said they were calling me the amigo javelina chaser. I asked what the heck is that. He said they’re calling me a pigchaser. Without knowing it at the time Pigchaser was born. Years later when I was thinking of a name for the bbq sauce company my son said “Dad why don’t you call it Pigchaser? Remember when you chased that pig?”
So that’s how Pigchaser got its name. It’s a true story and I’ll never chase one of those ferocious animals again.