Oh No they Didn't: Washington State Stakes Cheese Against Wisconsin

When one thinks of food products from Wisconsin, we naturally think of cheese. Bratwurst second, but cheese for the most part first. Look at what the Green Bay Packers label themselves: Cheeseheads. They even wear silly foam cheese wedges on their heads during games. (Note: My Chicago Bears tried to get together a “deep dish pizza” hat to compete with the Packers. It didn’t work out.) So…with the Packers in the NFL Playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, we naturally figured that all the politcos from Wisconsin would be staking their beloved cheese on the Packers. Turns out, they not the only ones.

Complementing the wager between the Seattle and Green Bay Mayors, this week, the Governors decided to get in on the action. “Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has just laid the smackdown on Wisconsin in the traditional state-to-state football playoff wager.”

Gregoire is betting Wazzu’s famous Cougar Gold cheese because, she said, “The cheese from Washington is so good that we wouldn’t want to waste it by putting it on our heads.”

The Cougar Gold Cheese, made at the Washington State University Creamery under the direction of students and faculty has won numerous international awards for the fairly unique canned product. For his part, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has staked Wisconsin Brats.

Gregoire, who will be in Green Bay with Wisconsin’s first couple, would give Doyle’s bratwursts to the Grays Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center, which would in turn give them to flood victims in Montesano.

“It may seem odd to bet cheese against the cheeseheads, but we think Governor Doyle would be impressed with the quality of the Cougar Gold,” Gregoire said.

Bottomline: Awesome bet, Governor Gregoire. She went right at them and was a bit creative. We like the simplicity of this wager. It’s not often that a politico will just limit their wager to one product. 60 Daleys. The high water mark for 2008.