`A bet is a bet': Calgarians to pay up in Battle of Alberta wagers
The dust has settled on the first Battle of Alberta in more than three decades, with the Calgary Flames bowing out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers in five games.
And now, for the Calgary officials and institutions that placed bets on the Flames emerging victorious from the series, the bill is coming due.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek's office confirmed she will attend the June 7 city council meeting in Oilers colours, wearing orange and blue face paint — think David Puddy in Seinfeld. Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has the privilege of avoiding that fate.
Gondek will also wear an Oilers jersey to that meeting, as will “most if not all” city councillors, per Gondek's office.
On top of that, councillors will also be making individual donations to the Kids with Cancer Society, though exact donation amounts aren't yet known. Those donations are in honour of Ben Stetler, the six-year-old Oilers fan battling brain cancer who has become a mainstay during Edmonton's run to the Western Conference Final.
Similar wagers extended among local police forces and First Nations.
Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld is on the hook to spend a day wearing an Oilers jersey and having the team's logo painted on his face. Tsuut'ina Nation Chief Roy Whitney already swallowed his pride and donned an Edmonton sweater after his lost bet with the Enoch Cree Nation, one which also saw him make a donation to Enoch's Nehiyaw department to boost Cree language in the community.
Edmonton soccer star Alphonso Davies already started the social media trash talk after winning his wager against Calgarian Sam Adekugbe, his teammate on Canada's national men's soccer team. Adekugbe now has to take a photograph in an Oilers jersey and donate $2,000 to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
Mount Royal University will fly Oilers flags on campus for the day Monday, after losing its bet against Edmonton's Macewan University. The school is also donating $1,000 each to the food banks at both universities.
“While this is not the result we predicted or wanted, a bet is a bet and we'll be raising the Oilers flag on the MRU campus,” MRU president and vice-chancellor Tim Rahilly said.
The Oilers move on to face the Colorado Avalanche for the right to play in the Stanley Cup final. The puck drops for Game 1 in Denver on Tuesday.