Superintendents place friendly wager on Steelers-Chiefs game
Aside from bragging rights and hometown pride, Pittsburgh Public School District’s interim superintendent has another reason to want the Steelers to win their playoff game Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Superintendent Wayne Walters has found himself in a “friendly wager” with Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell, according to a Facebook post from PPS.
The two have a bet that says whichever team loses the NFL Super Wild Card Weekend game, that city’s superintendent has to wear the winning team’s jersey all day Friday. To up the ante, the loser also has to send a gift basket to the winner that includes some of the “city’s favorites,” the Facebook post said.
If the Steelers lose, the basket going to the Missouri city will include PPS swag, Eat n’ Park cookies, Heinz ketchup, gifts from the Andy Warhol and Carnegie museums and a copy of August Wilson’s play “Fences,” according to the city schools’ media manager, Merecedes
Williams.
When the Steelers make the playoffs, the Pittsburgh school district has typically reached out to the school district in the city of the opposing team. Together, the superintendents decide on what the wager should be, Ms. Williams said.
And this year, PPS seems to be pretty confident in the Steelers.
“Dr. Bedell, what size do you wear? Because we’re ready to put your Pittsburgh Steelers jersey in the cart!” the district’s Facebook post said.
Is Mr. Walters biting off more than he can chew? The Chiefs beat the Steelers, 36-10, on Dec. 26 in Kansas City. The playoff game Sunday is there, too, and the Chiefs are favored by 12.5 points, according to gamblingoddsmakers.