Pittsburgh Mayor Honors Bet with Denver Mayor by Tebowing

By Deborah Braconnier


The first playoff game for the Denver Broncos took place on January 8th against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were favored and I can guess that the bets were flying down in Vegas. However, there was another bet paced on this game. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl had a friendly little wager on the game.

Now, the Broncos were not favored to win this game at all, so Ravenstahl didn't think he had anything to worry about. Unfortunately, he must have forgotten about the power of Broncos QB Tim Tebow and the magic he has to pull off a win when it is least expected.

The Broncos took a big lead in the second quarter of the game, however the Steelers did manage to tie it up and send the game into overtime. However, Tebow seems to have some special powers when it comes to overtime wins and, in the first play of overtime Tebow passed down the middle to Demaryius Thomas for 80 yards and the touchdown for the win.

Now, when it comes to these bets between cities, the rewards are usually a variety of foods and specialties delivered from the loser's state to the winners. When I was a child, my father was a manager for a gourmet restaurant and made a bet with another restaurant in Florida when the Chicago Bears played the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins won and my father ended up flying down to deliver some delicacy famous at the restaurant.

But, the bet between these two mayors was a little different. If the Steelers had won the game, Mayor Hancock would have had to wear a Steelers jersey and display a Terrible Towel at one of his planned public events. Luckily this didn't happen.

Instead, since the Broncos won, Mayor Ravenstahl had to sport No. 15 Tebow jersey and "Tebow" in front of a popular Pittsburgh location. So, on Tuesday, January 10th, that is exactly what Mayor Ravenstahl did at Roberto Clemente Memorial Park on the North Shore.

I wonder what bets might be circulating over the upcoming January 14th game against the New England Patriots. How many more mayors can the Broncos can get to wear Tebow's jersey?

Deborah Braconnier is a former athlete and avid football fan. She is a freelance writer and Featured Contributor for the NFL and Olympics. She has followed the Denver Broncos since she was a child and can usually be found yelling at the television during football season. Follow her on Twitter at @fwcdeborah.