Sunday, August 18, 2013

ArenaBowl XXVI: Mayors' bet: Losing mayor must publicly confess that he had no clue city even had arena football team

Orlando, FL--When local newspapers contacted Mayor Greg Stanton of Phoenix and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia inquiring about the friendly wager between the two cities for the upcoming ArenaBowl XXVI, each provided the news outlets with identical terse answers: "What the hell are you talking about?" The heads of two major American cities at the centers of large metropolitan areas were baffled about any bet, or, for that matter, any championship indoor football game between the Arizona Rattlers and the Philadelphia Soul. "They're playing football indoors these days? Yeah, good one. I'll have some of whatever you're drinking," said Mayor Stanton. "Next you'll tell me we have a hockey team in the desert." When the Arena Football League got involved and reached out to the uninformed Mayors to "please, make a friendly wager to help establish a foundation of legitimacy for our league" the busy men agreed (also, it was an opportunity for some publicity). Much to the chagrin of the AFL, the mayors agreed that the loser would hold an elaborate press conference, inviting media from far and wide, and publicly admit to having no clue that their home city had an arena football team. "It's a risky bet," said Mayor Nutter. "I hope the team that supposedly plays in Philadelphia beats the squad that supposedly plays in Phoenix."

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