Doritos, Connect Four, breath strips: Packers' Micah Parsons comes clean on 10 essential things he can't live without
The next time you fly somewhere, you could do a lot worse than to have Micah Parsons in the seat next to you.
The Green Bay Packers defensive end doesn’t mess around when it comes to packing a travel bag with all the really important stuff. Need an Altoid or a Listerine Cool Mint Breath Strip? He’s got you covered. A squirt of hand sanitizer? Check. An Anker power bank to charge your phone? Always. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos in the purple bag? His favorite.
It’s the ample supply of beef jerky he always makes sure he has close at hand that's a little more complicated.
Parsons recently sat down for GQ’s recurring feature that asks famous personalities to share 10 everyday essentials they can’t live without. In between explaining why boxing gloves, Adidas sneakers, Mountain Valley Spring Water in a glass bottle and video games made his list, the 26-year-old former Dallas Cowboy humorously talked about why he never travels without snacks.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parson speaks during his introductory press conference on Aug. 29 at Lambeau Field after being traded by the Dallas Cowboys.
“My ... one homeboy, we flying to Australia and he’s like, ‘Yo, why you got two big bags of grass-fed beef jerky in your carry-on?’ I was like, ‘Bro, worst coming to worst, I know I’m gonna have some snacks. I’m gonna be very prepared.”
He made a point to clarify that it’s critical the jerky isn’t packed away in checked baggage. It needs to be at the ready in his Dior black book bag or his Dior duffle bag (aka “duffy”), which also made his essentials list.
“Everything is coming with me. That's why that bag is so important, like I'm not going nowhere without a bag,” Parsons said. “Besides getting stuck, man, if the plane go down, I’m good. You need to survive, because if that thing go down and some reason we in the desert or we in, you know, somewhere icy, I don't wanna hear, ‘Yo I know you got that beef jerky. Let me get a piece.’ It’s like, ‘Nah, you gonna be wolf meat.’”
Parsons also listed hygiene products as a must — and not just one or two. He likes to be fully stocked. As a 250-pound guy, he gets sweaty, so he always has deodorant along. The Listerine Breath Strips and Altoids go hand in hand with his love for Doritos, because never underestimate the importance of fresh breath. He also carries dental floss picks and, in case he’s going somewhere where he might not have the toilet paper he needs, he says wet wipes are "super essential."
He started carrying hand sanitizer when his career “started blowing up” and more people were touching him.
“And when people touch me it like give me the ick,” he said. “And someone come and grab my shoulder or ... wanna shake my hand or something like that, like I gotta squeeze down real quick.”
During the 10-minute video segment, Parsons also revealed he loves board games, everything from Scattergories to Monopoly to Uno (he has his own house rules), but challenge him to a game of Connect Four at your own risk. He’s not playing around when it comes to that one.
“Like it’ll ruin my whole night if I lose," he said. "I’m like dead nice. Everybody in my family, friends know, they was like, ‘Yo, we don't play Micah in Connect Four.’”
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Doritos, Connect Four, breath strips: Packers' Micah Parsons comes clean on 10 essential things he can't live without
