Kids in Jerseys As Pawns: Catholic School Kids Wager on Super Bowl

Kids in school are having a lot of fun these days. From the Doodle 4 Google contest to taking part in friendly political wagers on the Super Bowl. That's right, there's a group of Catholic School kids in Glendale setting up a wager with kids in Pittsburgh.

Students from Catholic schools Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glendale and John F. Kennedy School in Washington, Pa., near Pittsburgh, have agreed that should their team lose, the students have to wear the winning team's colors for a day.

Stacey McCracken, parent of four students attending the Pennsylvania school, got the idea after the Cardinals won the NFC Championship. She said she thought it would be fun to have an Arizona Scho0l enter a bet. After searching on Google for a matching school, she found Our Lady of Perpetual Help and called to set up the wager.

McCracken said that should the Steelers lose to the Cardinals, her school's faculty will wear red Arizona T-shirts and prepare a Cardinals-themed lunch. She added that there may be other "unfortunate events" if Arizona wins.

Buying an entire school new shirts during these trying economic times? I guess those parents who are sending their kids to catholic schools really do have too much money on their hands.

Bottomline: Using kids as pawns to get some press is kinda lame. The lunch is "interesting", but since this doesn't involve politicans, we tend to rate this wager pretty low. 9 Daleys.

Superbowl XLIII or Horticulture Bowl XLIII?

It's Super Bowl week! For us here at Our Civic Pride, this week culminates 4 straight weekends of friendly political wagers from Mayors, Governors, Congressman, and Senators from the playoff cities. It all comes down to this: Pittsburgh vs. Glendale/Phoenix/Arizona. As with every Superbowl, the mayors have ante'd up, but this year there's a twist: the loser has to plant a native plant "outside their stadium".

Glendale Mayor Elain Scruggs has thrown down a wager to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

If the Arizona Cardinals beat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, a cactus must be planted outside Heinz Field to remind Pittsburgh fans of the desert underdog's victory.

If the Steelers win, Glendale officials agree to plant a tree that is native to Pennsylvania, such as a dogwood, elderberry or red oak.

That may be a safe bet with University of Phoenix Stadium's horticultural history. In the dome's first year, about 120 sycamores couldn't survive the Arizona heat, shriveling on the Great Lawn.

But Glendale officials say they can keep such a tree alive, and gardeners assure them a San Pedro cactus can survive a Pittsburgh winter.

They don't specify if there's any signage required - and we think there should be - as a reminder of the team's loss. We might need to remind everyone that this is the same mayor who changed his name a few weeks back. We think the "plant" wager is unique wager, but clearly the Cardinals are in the drivers seat: a cactus in Pittsburgh is funny, while a tree in Arizona is just sad.

Bottomline: Superbowl means some "hot" action. We haven't heard from the Senators or Governors yet, but we like this wager. We're also secretly hoping that the Cardinals win, so we can see a cactus grow up in Pittsburgh. Imagine a kid growing up and heading to Steeler games is going to ask his dad:

Son: "Daddy...why is there a giant cactus outside the Stadium?"

Dad: "That's our badge of shame, son. We lost to the lowly Arizona/Glendale/Phoenix Cardinals in Superbowl XLIII. Our Mayor had to plant that silly thing back in 2009."

One can wish, eh? In reality, we imagine that if planted, this Super Bowl Cactus would last about 30 seconds before a buch of irate Steeler fans destroyed it. We give this bet 46 Daleys and our fingers are firmly crossed!

Jersey Boys: 2 Locals Wager Embarrassment

Two local Mayors around Philadelphia came up with an "embarrassment" wager a few weeks back. Apparently one of the Mayors is a New Jersey transplant and bleeds NY Giants Red and Blue. In the Jan. 11 divisional play-off game, the Eagles beat the Giants. They mayors settled up this week.

When Howell Mayor Robert Walsh ran Tuesday's Township Council meeting while wearing a Philadelphia Eagles football jersey, he finished paying off a bet to Upper Freehold Mayor Steve Alexander.

The bet was on the Jan. 11 Eagles-Giants divisional play-off game.

Alexander, a Philadelphia native, is a die-hard Eagles fan; Walsh grew up in Jersey City as a die-hard Giants fan. The "Iggles" beat "Big Blue," 23 to 11, so Walsh had to pay off the bet.

First, Walsh brought coffee and pastries to the Jan. 15 Upper Freehold Township Committee meeting. The two mayors, who had never met before, wore Eagles jerseys — Alexander as a fan, Walsh as part of paying off the bet.

Walsh's bringing the coffee and pastries, along with wearing the Eagles jersey, were part of the payoff.

"I'm feeling a little shameful," said Walsh, 50, as he was heading out the Upper Freehold meeting. "I just saw myself in the mirror with an Eagles jersey on. But I'll suck it up."

The jersey wearing portion of the bet has become commonplace for local city council members or mayors. Because the Mayors both hail from the same region, while betting on different teams, it was difficult to pick "regional" foods.

Bottomline: This run of the mill bet includes folks who don't even live where the teams are based. Because of those factors, we put this wager down at the bottom of the scale. 9 Daleys.

Chilly Willy Mayor - San Diego Mayor Pays Up, Rubs it in

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is a man of his word. After his Chargers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend, Mayor Sanders had to pay up by donning some Steelers gear and heading to the coldest place in San Diego - the Penguin Exhibit at SeaWorld. The ground rules for this friendly political wager was that the loser had to wear the opponents jersey and head to the place that most resembles the winner's hometown.

It was a friendly wager Mayor Jerry Sanders, a week ago, was sure he would win. Unfortunately, the Chargers couldn't come through last Sunday against the Steelers. Now it's time for Mayor Jerry Sanders to honor his bet with Pittsburgh's mayor. That means donning a Steelers jersey while hanging out with the penguins at Sea World.

Sanders was photographed inside the Penguin Encounter exhibit at SeaWorld, wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers hat and jersey, holding a "terrible towel," in salute of the black and gold defense, and standing next to a pair of skis.

That was the bet Sanders made with Ravenstahl before the game.

Had the unthinkable happened and the Chargers won, Ravenstahl would have had to return a photo of himself in Chargers swim trunks, standing with a surfboard donated by Bob's Mission Surf Shop in front of one of Pittsburgh's three rivers.

Turns out, the good folks in San Diego aren't the best losers. They couldn't help themselves. While much of the country is in a deep freeze, they had to point out how good it is to live in San Diego.

"It was 20 degrees in the Penguin Encounter -- a lot like Pittsburgh, in fact. When I walked outside, it was a perfect San Diego day -- sunny and 75. In San Diego, even when we lose, we win," Sanders said.

Thanks for reminding us, Mayor. Full Video below:

Deadspin Takes on the Friendly Politcical Wager

The guys over at Deadspin, one of the top sports blogs on the web, have decided to jump in on the friendly political wagers. While they're not politicians, its still worth noting. Founding Editor (and Illini guy) Will Leitch has covered the friendly political wagers in the past, but this time he's an active participant. Taking a look at the ante's so far, we think that this isn't your ususal political wager. Leitch is backing his Cardinals and putting up:

1. Take A.J. Daulerio out for a dinner that involves eating as many tacos as he can handle.

2. Take a cookie sheet to the face. Mr. Daulerio will be allowed to swing a cookie sheet as hard as he wants directly at my face. This will be filmed.

3. Shave my head.

For his part, AJ Daulerio is putting up:

1. I will take Will Leitch out for a sushi dinner.

2. I will also take a cookie sheet to the face.

3. I will get a tattoo of a buzzsaw on the top side of my right buttock.

Food, injury, and embarrassment. Two of those we see all the time (food and embarrassment), but the injury changes things.

Bottomline: We're going to rank this wager, simply because it's from the guys @ Deadspin. They're not politicians, the food wagered here has no tie to the team's home towns, and frankly, the tattoo vs. haircut aren't even close. The cookie sheet will lead to a lot of laughs, though. We'll give it 30 Daleys.

Pittsburgh Mayor Changes Name, Fails to Bet

The NFL really is our biggest sporting league. If the action on these Playoff games are any indication, that is. While this isn't so much a bet, but more of a political "stunt", we here at Our Civic Pride feel compelled to cover it. What are we talking about? Luke Ravenstahl the 28 year old mayor of Pittsburgh has officially changed his name for this week to "Luke Steelerstahl".

The Pittsburgh Steelers compete for the AFC Championship this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has "upped the ante" for wacky political stunts by changing his name to Luke Steelerstahl until the game is over. After all, he can't have his constituents thinking that he is a secret Ravens fan.

Bravo, Luke. At 28, this guy clearly knows his way around the political world. We're guessing that he went this route because he had no opponent to wager against - as the Mayor of Baltimore has a few more things on her mind than friendly political wagers.

Mayor Sheila Dixon has been accused of secretly accepting more than $20,000 worth of gifts from developers doing business with the city, sometimes masking it as charity to needy Baltimore families, according to a 12-count indictment handed up Friday.

Besides....with her history, she probably would have just kept both ante's and went home!

Bottomline: No wager, no Daleys. Sorry, Mayor Steelerstahl!

NYC vs. Philly: Battle of the Big Cheeses in the NFC

Forget the fact that the NY Giants don't actually play in New York. To NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the Super Bowl Champion Football Giants are enough of "his" team to place a wager against the Philadelphia Mayor on last weekend's NFC Divisional Playoff game.

In this wager, it's all about cheese. Cheese steaks vs. cheesecakes. If the Giants won, Philly Mayor Nutter was to send a sampling of five cheese steaks from popular shops across Philadelphia. If the Eagles were triumphant, Mayor Bloomberg was to send a giant New York-style cheesecake from the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan.

The Eagles buried the Champion Giants. Mayor Nutter's going to savoring every bit of his cheesecake this week.

At Our Civic Pride, we're wondering if NYC could have done better. Cheesecakes? We guess it works in that this could be billed as the "Battle of the Big Cheeses". The cheesesteaks are a great ante from Philly. Can't be topped. The only qualm we have with the ante is the volume. 5 steaks? From 5 different places? I'll take 5 Pat's and 5 Gino's and call it a day.

Bottomline: 2 great sports towns celebrating the NFC playoff's in true political fashion: with a nice cheese-friendly wager. Philly's really carrying the weight here with the steaks, so we'll give it 25 Daleys.

World Series Wagers: Beef, Lobsters, and Chowder, Oh My…

There’s nothing quite like the Fall Classic to bring out the friendly political wagers. This year’s World Series features the Red Sox from Boston against the Rockies from Colorado. This is the first time the Rockies have made the Series and the interest from politicians in Colorado reflects that fact. While the Rockies have won 21 of 22, the folks from New England are pretty confident that they’ll be bringing back the spoils after the Series. Thus far, we’ve seen the Governor and both sets of Senators get in on the wagering action. That’s already in addition to Congressmen and the Mayors of Denver and Boston. Like we said, nothing brings out the wagers like the World Series!

U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar of Colorado are wagering Colorado-raised beef, while Massachusetts Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry are countering with New England clam chowder and lobster rolls.

The senators who lose the bet will donate the grub to a charity chosen by the senators who win.

Reps. Mark Udall, Diana DeGette and John Salazar of Colorado have their own bet against Boston-area Reps. Edward Markey, Stephen Lynch and Michael Capuano.

If the Red Sox win, the Colorado representatives treat their counterparts to a meal of steaks and chili. If the Rockies win, the Massachusetts trio foots the bill for chowder and lobster.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper wagered sub sandwiches, herbal tea, tortilla chips, salsa and ice cream against Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s clam chowder, coffee, doughnuts and ice cream sandwiches. The winning mayor will serve the treats at a charity of his choice.

The Governor’s are also getting in on the action. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter hosted a conference call today detailing the wager.

Patrick is putting up lobsters and ice cream vs. beef from Ritter.

Bottomline: The sheer volume of “action” on this game raises the stakes considerably for us at OurCivicPride. Using our new “Daley Meter” and rating scale, we’re happy to give this “set” of wagers an above average rating of 48 Daleys. The sheer number of folks anteing up, coupled with the types of food waged equals 48 Daleys. It’s no Chicago spread, but it’s pretty good.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle Doesn’t Back Down

Don’t call Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle a wimp. Or…at least don’t call his press flaks wimps. They certainly didn’t back down in their wager over the NFL Playoff game between the Packers andSeahawks. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire came out swinging earlier this week when she went right at the entire State of Wisconsin by staking Washington Cheese against Governor Doyle’s Wisconsin Bratwurst. Doyle, clearly not one to take such a whack lightly went right back at Gregoire byupping the “ante” by agreeing to include some “freshly caught Lake Michigan Coho Salmon” — in addition to the already agreed upon Wisconsin bratwurst — if the Seahawks beat the Packers.

From the press release:

“It seems a little fishy that Governor Gregoire would want to send cheese to the greatest cheese makers in the world, but we will happily accept her gift after the Packers victory,” Governor Doyle said. “Wisconsinites don’t have a lot of occasion to eat canned cheese from the West Coast.”

Nice. The Governors will meet face-to-face this weekend. I’m certain that Governor Gregoire will re-up her ante if she can. We’ll wait to re-evaluate the number of Daleys we’re giving this wager until the final stakes come in.

Mayor Wears Peyton Manning Jersey, Hold Up His Side of the Wager

It took almost 8 months, but Lake Forest (IL) Mayor Michael Rummel (pictured here) paid off his "FPW" with Terre Haute (IN) mayor Kevin Burke. See, Lake Forest is the regular season home of the Chicago Bears and the Mayor decided to bet not food or drink, but rather a uniform.

The Colts won 29-17 in February, and Saturday was payday. Along with Rummel providing Burke with various "goodies'' from Lake Forest, Rummel had to show up at training camp wearing a Colts jersey. If the Bears had prevailed, Burke would have donned a Bears jersey and served as grand marshal at the recent "Dog Day'' parade in Lake Forest.

I like this bet. In addition to delivering these so called "goodies", there's the shame aspect. That's a nice touch, guys. I wonder what the "goodies" were? One of their notable exports is Vince Vaughn!

Seattle Seahawks v. Chicago Bears. No Contest when Chicago is Involved

Although I'm a bit biased being that I live/work/play in Chicago, whenever Chicago or the State of Illinois is involved in the wagering, they always come "ready to play". If you've ever been to Chicago, you know that this is an "eatin' town". Some of the best food around is made, prepared, and consumed in the Windy City. For the NFC Divisional Playoff Game, Chicago's Mayor Daley has put up a bountiful feast against Seattle's Mayor Greg Nickels. Here's the rundown.

What Chicago put up: pork chops, steaks, hot dogs, sausage, stuffed pretzels, potato chips, Mexican food, pizza, gourmet popcorn, Italian beef, beer and soda.

What Seattle has on the line: smoked king salmon, cheese, beer, Washington state wine, espresso chocolates and coffee.

Seattle's ante into the wager is a little light, isn't it? Perfect for a day at the orchestra, eh? Competing with Chicago is very difficult and Seattle fell short.