Red Sox Wagers in the Capitol
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 -Red Sox Nation has arrived in the nation’s Capital.
The Boston Red Sox are in the World Series and Johnny “Jesus” Damon, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and, yes, even Derek Lowe and Mark Bellhorn have been the saviors of those undying Red Sox supporters in the nation’s capital-where right now Red Sox fanatics appear to far outweigh those newfound Washington Senators’ fans. The plentiful Boston T-shirts and hats around Washington typically generate friendly “go Sox!” cheers from one stranger to another.
Congressman John F. Tierney, a life-long Red Sox supporter, is among those Washington inhabitants infected with Red Sox fever. So sure is Tierney of a World Series win that he has wagered some creamy New England clam chowder and Samuel Adams beer with fellow Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay Jr. of St. Louis. Clay is betting Budweiser and some greasy White Castle burgers, a chain primarily found in the Midwest, that his city’s Cardinals will win.
This wager on the Red Sox is the first Tierney has made since he was elected in 1996. The Salem Democrat, like most Red Sox fans, said he has been waiting since 1986 to see the Sox in the World Series again and hopes that they will win this time around.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has engaged in a similarly friendly wager with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. If the Cardinals win, Menino has to treat Slay to a seafood dinner and a Boston cream pie; if the Sox win, Slay must pay up with toasted raviolis and Anheuser-Busch products, according to Sports Illustrated.
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