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NFL: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh Mayors Bet On Steelers-Bengals Wild Card Game Saturday

By Stephen Jordan
Published on: 06:03 PST, Jan 9, 2016

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto are wagering on the Bengals-Steelers NFL wild card game taking place on Saturday, reports USA Today. But instead of putting up a large amount of money, they are wagering with local favorite foods. Whoever loses the bet will have to send the winner the promised tasty goods as well as serve a meal in a local rescue mission while sporting the jersey of the winning football team. What do the odds look like for the two mayors?

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 16 to 10 back in November, while Pittsburgh turned the tables in December with a 33 to 20 win, leaving the season series split by the two NFL teams. The Pittsburgh Steelers head into the game with a 10-6 mark, while the AFC North champion Bengals are 12-4.

“Everything changes, how much faster these playoff games are, how much more every little mistake means, every little play means,” says Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “It’s a completely new season.”

“So, the mayor of Pittsburgh, of course, will be wearing a Bengals jersey at a shelter in Pittsburgh,” Mayor Cranley said during a Cincinnati City Council meeting on Wednesday while speaking on the possible outcome of the NFL wild card game.

Cranley will serve at the City Gospel Mission in Queensgate if the Cincinnati Bengals lose. In addition to that, he will personally ship Peduto a care package stocked with Graeter’s ice cream sundaes, Montgomery Inn goodies, and Gold Star Chili coneys. As it turns out, Graeter’s ice cream has been around for over 145 years and is the best hand-crafted ice cream in the country, while the Montgomery Inn offers food like pulled pork, ribs, and chicken barbecue.

If the Pittsburgh Steelers lose the wild card game, Peduto promises to send a special care package filled with a variety of tasty treats. He will send plenty of Primanti Brothers sandwiches, a real Pittsburgh landmark, frankfurters and pierogies from Franktuary, a batch of cookies from Smiley, some Heinz Co. macaroni and cheese, and local ice cream.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be playing Saturday’s game without DeAngelo Williams following his painful right ankle injury in their Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns. Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant going up against the tough cornerbacks of the Bengals is going to make for a great NFL game.

NFL: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh Mayors Bet On Steelers-Bengals Wild Card Game Saturday
Brandon Boykin #25 of the Pittsburgh Steelers attempts to tackle Marvin Jones #82 of the Cincinnati Bengals. [Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images]

“Whether it’s him going deep, or him working underneath stuff,” Roethlisberger told the team’s official website, talking about Antonio Brown. “That is where he is striving to get better is his route running, underneath routes to beat the deep coverage, catching the ball. He is a special player when the ball gets into his hands as well. A three- or four-yarder can turn into a 70-, 80-yarder quick because he is that talented.”

However, speaking of NFL player Roethlisberger, the 700 WLW-AM radio station in Cincinnati issued a pretty scathing joke about the football player’s alleged history of sexual abuse. The radio station aired a city-wide “Big Ben rape warning,” joking that locals should be cautious.

“The tri-state is currently under a ‘Big Ben warning’ from now through early Sunday morning. The Steelers quarterback has been spotted in the downtown Cincinnati area. All females ages 18-40 are to use extreme caution, especially if heavily consuming alcohol. Males should also be on the lookout just in case. If you see ‘Big Ben’ and he flashes ‘little Ben,’ you’re asked to report it to the authorities immediately.”

According to TMZ Sports, 700 WLW-AM is not going to stop playing the spoof ad, and the Cincinnati radio station plans to keep it going throughout the weekend.

[Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images]

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