Credit union execs make friendly wager on the big game
Philly’s Ardent and KC’s Mazuma credit unions bet iconic foods.
Ardent Credit Union has a wager going with Mazuma Credit Union in Kansas City on who will win Sundays’ Super Bowl — the Philadelphia Eagles or Kansas City Chiefs.
And while the days leading up to a big game often lead to some competitive “trash talk,” in this case the talk is humorous and friendly.
It all started with Ardent President and CEO Rob Werner issuing a challenge to Mazuma: The loser of Sunday’s matchup between the Eagles and the Chiefs will deliver a basket of iconic food items from their city to the winning company, and will make a donation to a charity of the winner’s choice.
Werner told MediaNews Group the two credit unions follow each other on social media, so it was natural to reach out to them about placing a friendly wager on the game.
“We are a very cooperative industry in the credit union world, so there’s nothing like some healthy fun competition once in a while. If we can do it on the football field we’ll take advantage of it there. It’s all in good fun,” Werner said.
Wearing his best Eagles gear and with what he called “Philly grit and swagger,” Philadelphiaarea native Werner took to the streets of Center City this week to issue the challenge — in the form of a video posted on Ardent’s social media.
In his video, Werner wished Mazuma Credit Union and the Chiefs good luck in Sunday’s game.
“And while I know how much you would love a Philly food basket, I think I can taste those burnt ends and cheese slippers already. Fly, Eagles, fly, baby — go birds,” he said in the video.
The challenge was accepted by Mazuma.
“As credit unions we are all about helping people. And Pennsylvania has already helped us,
because we have (former Eagles coach) Andy Reid. So we’re going to just keep it going,” said Caroline Engle, director of marketing for Mazuma Credit Union.
Werner is confident the Eagles will be victorious on Sunday, but just in case, he said Ardent has considered what would be in the basket.
In the basket will be hoagies, cheesesteaks, Tastykakes, “and anything from Wawa,” he said.
“Philadelphia definitely has the better food, we know we have the better fans and we’re going to prove on Sunday we have the better team,” he added.
Likewise, Engle said she doesn’t expect Mazuma will have to pay up, but if the “unthinkable” happens, the credit union will present Werner with a basket containing some of Kansas City’s famous barbecue, for sure.
“We’ll have it finalized by Friday, but right now we’re getting some ideas back from the community on what they would like to see in it IF we lose, which we’re not going to,” she added.
Oh, and those Cheese Slippers referenced by Werner in his challenge video? They are a mix of “ciabatta bread dough with various cheeses mixed in and topped with fruits and vegetables, according to Messenger Coffee” of Kansas City.
Engle said Mazuma didn’t do a video response but posted Werner’s video on its social media, eliciting comments from the community.
The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce commented on Mazuma’s Facebook page: “We hope the cheesesteaks and pretzels will still be warm when they get here!”
As of Thursday, neither company had settled on the amount
of the donation that would be made to the other’s charity. Engle said that if Mazuma loses its wager, not only will it make a donation to the charity of Ardent’s choice — it will also make a donation
to a Kansas City nonprofit as well — a “win-win any way that it happens.”
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Ardent Credit Union operates eight locations in the region.
Membership in the credit union is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, volunteers or goes to school in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.