Bishops, Police Chiefs, Librarians Make Game Bets
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Once the domain of mayors and governors betting tasty regional specialties such as sugar cream pie and crab cakes, friendly sports wagers have spread to a much wider pool of players for this year's Super Bowl, as bishops, zookeepers, librarians and police chiefs from San Francisco and Baltimore get into the act. And what's at stake has become more elaborate, including a lot of shame-inducing jersey wearing.
Here's a look at who's bet what on the outcome of Sunday's game between the 49ers and the Ravens.
THE MAYORS: Baltimore's Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Edwin Lee of San Francisco are betting on a day of service and crab-picking. The mayor of the winning team will host the losing mayor for a day of volunteer service with AmeriCorps. The losing mayor must also pick crabs -- Dungeness crab at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf or blue crabs in Baltimore -- while wearing the opposing team's jersey.
THE BISHOPS: The Episcopal bishops of California and Maryland are going local and global with their wager. Marc Andrus of California and Eugene Sutton of Maryland have delicacies on the line: Andrus may have to come up with a basket of goodies such as wine, Anchor Steam beer, sourdough bread and maybe some tie-dyed vestments. Sutton is promising Old Bay seasoning, Berger cookies (gooey chocolate atop a shortbread base), crab cakes, National Bohemian beer, a beehive wig for Andrus to wear as a miter and a copy of the first season of "The Wire." The loser must make a donation to Rebuild Haiti in the name of the winning team's diocese.
THE ZOOKEEPERS: The cities' zoos already have a claim on their teams. The Maryland Zoo is home to Rise and Conquer, the official raven mascots of The Baltimore Ravens. The San Francisco Zoo has a young black rhino named Boone, after 49ers offensive tackle Alex Boone. If the Ravens lose, the birds' enclosure will be renamed the San Francisco 49ers exhibit for a month. Similarly, the area housing Boone the rhino would be renamed in honor of the Ravens if San Francisco loses.
THE SENATORS: U.S. senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin of Maryland and Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California are keeping it old-school. If the 49ers win, Boxer and Feinstein will receive crab cakes from Faidley's in Lexington Market in Baltimore, Berger cookies and Heavy Seas beer. If the Ravens win, Boxer and Feinstein will send Dungeness crab, Napa Valley wine, sourdough bread and a selection of northern California cheeses to Mikulski and Cardin.
THE LIBRARIANS: If the Ravens win, San Francisco Public Library City Librarian Luis Herrera will have to recite Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" in the atrium of the city's main library while wearing a Ravens jersey. If the 49ers win, Enoch Pratt Free Library CEO Carla Hayden must declaim George Sterling's "The Cool, Grey City of Love" in the Central Library main hall wearing a 49ers jersey.
THE CHIEFS: It's a duel of on-field demonstrations for San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. Suhr vows that Batts will be "Kaepernicking" -- flexing and kissing his bicep in imitation of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's victory pose. Batts says Suhr will have to don Baltimore Ravens gear to perform the signature dance -- the Squirrel -- of linebacker Ray Lewis.
THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL: Someone let the lawyers in. Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler is looking forward to a dinner with California wine, courtesy of California Attorney General Kamala Harris, in the event of a Ravens victory. If the 49ers win, Gansler must treat Harris to a crab feast.
THE BREWERS: Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Md., and Anchor Steam in San Francisco have agreed that the brewery from the home state of the losing team will have to pour the other's beer for a week in their tap room. The tour guides will have to wear the winning team's jerseys.
THE SANDWICH-MAKERS: The legendary Attman's Deli on Corned Beef Row in Baltimore has a bet with Miller's East Coast Delicatessen in San Francisco: the losing deli will donate $500 to a Jewish charity of choice in the winning team's city.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
