This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 20, 2011 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, known for his sports fever, plans to attend Thursday night's Game 2 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. He'll miss later games because of his trip to China, and wasn't at Wednesday night's opener.
Asked if he was trying to arrange a bet with Texas Gov. Rick Perry Nixon told reporters Wednesday that he was "communicating."
"Obviously he was kind of busy last night," said Nixon, alluding to the fact that Perry was participating in a Republican presidential debate Tuesday night in Las Vegas. "Rick and I haven't had a chance to talk."
About an hour later, Nixon's office sent out a press release announcing a formal wager with Perry. According to Nixon's office, a first-ever Rangers championship would entitle Perry to:
- A six-pack of Budweiser bottles from Anheuser-Busch
- An order of toasted ravioli from the famous Rigazzi's Restaurant on the Hill in St. Louis
- Prosciutto, salami and other fine meats from St. Louis City-based Volpi Foods
- Frozen custard from Ted Drewes, the legendary south St. Louis establishment.
And if the Redbirds win? The release says Perry will fork over "traditional Texas barbecue" from the Salt Lick in Driftwood, Tex., and a case of Dr. Pepper.
"It will be a great day for the state of Missouri when the Redbirds wrap up the 11th World Championship in the team's storied history, the second-most world championships of any major league baseball franchise," said Nixon in a statement. "I appreciate Gov. Perry's willingness to take on this wager, and I look forward to watching the Show-Me State [winning] another historic series."
Added Perry in a statement: "With all due respect to the Cardinals and their legendary fan base, it's really their bad luck that they're running up against the Texas Rangers, a team of destiny poised to win the World Series. The Cardinals have had a great run, but this is about the here and now, and as Gov.Nixon and his fellow Missourians are about to discover, you simply can't mess with Texas."
UPDATE: On Thursday, Nixon added that he was adding another item to his bet arsenal: St. Louis-based Tums. "I sending (Perry)some Tums so he can cope with seeing Texas getting with,'' the governor said with a chuckle, before heading downtown for the game.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley.. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, also have jumped onto the bandwagon of sports-happy politicians waging bets.
If the Cardinals win, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex., has agreed to provide Clay's staff with a case of LoneStar beer and BBQ Brisket from Arlington's famed Spring Creek Barbeque.
If the Rangers win, Clay says he'll treat Barton's staff to "a case of Budweiser and deep dish pizza from the legendary St. Louis pizzeria, 'Pi,' which is highly favored by President Obama."
Slay also is offering up Pi pizza in his bet with Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck.
Slay is adding Schlafly beer (InBev has complained), Pappy's BBQ (pictured), gooey butter cake from Park Avenue Coffee, chocolate from Crown Candy Kitchen and a CD of the St. Louis Symphony.
Cluck is countering with Nolan Ryan Steaks.
As for Dooley, he Tweets that he's offering up "steak, bbq and Budweiser."
Dooley added Thursday that his Dallas County counterpart, Clay Jenkins, "is offering Shiner Bocks beer, Dickey's BBQ, and he says the best Mexican food north of the border."
The St. Louis Zoo arguably has come up with the most imaginative wager with its counterparts in Dallas/Fort Worth.
If the Rangers win, Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo, says he "will shovel 1,000 pounds of animal dung at the Saint Louis Zoo while wearing a Texas Rangers jersey."
"However, if the Cardinals win, the chief executives of the Fort Worth and Dallas zoos must each shovel 500 pounds of dung at their respective zoos while wearing St. Louis Cardinals jerseys," the Zoo's announcement says.
On Thursday, the zoo is undertaking a number of "enrichment activities'' involving some of its animals, all of which revolve around the Cardinals."
They include:
--"The Zoo's African lions will receive papier mache red and white baseballs (covered with enticing scents) to bat around."
-- The Saint Louis Zoo's sea lion 'Roby' (pronounced ROB-bee) will participate in baseball-themed enrichment activities including balancing a baseball on his nose and tossing it to a zookeeper, tossing a "Go Cards" Frisbee, and even sending a Rangers ball into the trash can."
--"The monkeys at the Primate House will get Cardinal-themed treats to enjoy."
St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU) has assembled a chartto help folks keep track of some of the prominent wagers.
Beacon political reporter Jo Mannies contributed information for this article.
