Gambling on the Vikings game…
Several Minnesota politicos are wagering with their Louisiana counterparts on this weekend's Vikings/Saints game.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are betting music.
GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen is betting a Minnesota meal (walleye and wild rice) against GOP Rep. Steve Scalise's offer of a New Orleans meal (alligator sausage and blackened redfish, as well as a pot of seafood gumbo).
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal are also preparing a bet but are taking suggestions on their respective Facebook pages. Pawlenty asked on his Facebook Page which option is best:
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Option 1:As much Lutefisk (whitefish soaked in lye) as he can eat?
Option 2:A Viking cooler filled with Minnesota's best microbrews?
Option 3:My favorite SPAM recipes (precooked meat from Austin, MN)?
Some of the responses to Pawlenty's request are funny including...
Al Franken
A chance to run as your vice-president
A letter of resignation.
Jindal has also been asking friends on his Facebook page what Pawlenty should wager. That posting even generated a TV story in New Orleans.
Some of the suggestions on Jindal's Facebook page include:
Money for education
Pawlenty singing Pants on the Ground!,
Jobs
Pawlenty singing Who Dat in a Saints jersey,
If the Vikes win, Pawlenty runs for pres in 2012. If the Saints win, Jindal runs
Have them endorse Bobby Jindal for President!
AP is also reporting that Pawlenty turned down an offer to join him in a Superdome suite for the game.
Update: DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) also made a wager:
If the Vikings win, Landrieu will cook a Minnesota wild rice casserole and deliver it to Klobuchar's office while wearing a Brett Favre jersey for Minnesota constituents to enjoy. If the Saints win, Klobuchar will cook gumbo and deliver it to Landrieu's office while wearing a Drew Brees jersey for Louisiana constituents to enjoy.