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Sun Bowl Betting Turns Ugly

Submitted by Roy Temple on December 20, 2006 - 10:27am

Normally, betting between politicians over sporting events is a rather civilized affair, with little political consequence for either side, but Governor Ted Kulongoski is drawing fire for his recent bet with Governor Matt Blunt.

The controversy seems to have settled in around two key issues.

1.) That Kulongoski, a Mizzou alum--both undergrad and law, is betting against his own alma mater, and

2.) That Blunt's offer for a Missouri loss is somehow inadequate.

As for point #1, there's little I can offer. That's between Governor K, his political considerations, and his conscience to work out--though he might want to search the AP photo archives for the hat worn by then-Governor John Ashcroft during the Cardinals/Royals World Series for guidance.

But as for point #2, and this may come as a surprise for regular Fired Up! readers, I am actually going to defend Governor Blunt against the charges that he has offered up inadequate bounty in the unlikely event of a Missouri loss.

First of all, there is nothing wrong with Fitz's root beer, despite the views of some blogger in "Orygun." And secondly, should Missouri lose, which they won't, Governor Kulongoski wouldn't be the first politician to be pleasantly surprised by the outcome of such a bet.

Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry thought the bet over the Super Bowl with Senators Kit Bond and Jean Carnahan wasn't fair either. Kennedy and Kerry offered up a Legal Seafoods clambake, Carnahan and Bond--Ted Drewes. But you certainly didn't see any complaints from either Kerry or Kennedy at the press event where the bet was paid off. Then again, it could have been because both Kerry and Kennedy had their mouth full of Ted Drewes.

Disclaimer: I may not be completely objective on matters relating to Fitz's, as my first date with Stacie, my wife, was at Fitz's in the U City Loop.

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Hey now!

Submitted by torridjoe on December 20, 2006 - 5:07pm.

Well then! I appear to have struck a nerve!

I certainly am gratified to see that my partly-in-jest comments have been heard back in the heartland. I salute the quick defense of your state and soon-to-be-despondent Tigers!

A couple points of clarification, if I may:

*We are not "some blogger in Oregon," we are Loaded Orygun--the journal of Oregon politics and culture and one of the top investigative/advocacy blogs coming from the left in the Beaver State. Come correct if ya gonna come!

*I never said there was anything wrong with Fitz's; I did note that it was ranked 30th of 177 root beers. It's just that Oregon essentially has two in the top 20. Coals to Newcastle, and all that.

*We don't do custard, so maybe if Gov. Blunt had tossed in some Drewes instead of syrup and butter, we'd have piped down. (We're getting pretty good at gelato though, so the window's closing on that too, probably). On the other hand, maybe it was offered in negotiations (which I hear involved several staffers from each side and weeks of backroom dealing, including a call to James Baker to mediate) and Ted refused, for fear of having a headline printed about him such as "Kulongoski loses bet, has mouthful of Ted Drewes."

*Less wine, more BBQ probably would have done the trick.

I sincerely apologize if anyone was truly offended by our tongue-in-cheek post. We've certainly got plenty to be thankful for regarding our show-me friends; without their backing of Claire McCaskill we'd still be lamenting a Republican Majority Leader in the Senate. So take it in the good-natured spirit in which it was meant. And as an aside, the scuttlebutt I heard from around the Guv's office is that Blunt was boxed in to offering the AgriMissouri basket, to feed the interests of the state products marketing board. So it's not his fault--blame politics!

As long as I've got you on the horn, how come you guys stole half of Kansas City but gave away half of St. Louis? :)

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