It Is Not Wise To Welch On Mayoral Bets

So here's a bad idea: When you're the mayor of a team that's playing in the NFC Championship game, and you're on the line with the opposing city's radio flagship, it's not a good idea to make promises you can't keep.

If the Panthers won, [Charlotte mayor] McCrory posed during a lighthearted exchange, the station would pay for his cousin, who lives in the Seattle area, to fly to Charlotte and back with his wife and two sons. If the Seahawks won, [radio DJ] Levy said, McCrory would provide tickets to a Duke-North Carolina basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "We happen to know that you can do it for us," Levy said. In fact, Duke-Carolina tickets in Cameron are nearly impossible to obtain. On Wednesday, Levy, again on the air, reminded McCrory of the wager. "You've got me hook, line and sinker," the mayor said. "How about this — can we do double or nothing?"

Of course, the radio station is causing a big fuss, because that's what radio stations do. The whole idea of mayor sports bets has always been silly to us — "we'll trade you our rampant crack epidemic for your lack of affordable public housing!" — but it's funny to see the mayor of a major American city getting in radio fights.

Did The Mayor Of Charlotte Welch On A Silly Wager? [The Fanhouse]