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In honor of the Denver Broncos-Seattle Seahawks battle, 5280 has accepted a wager from Seattle Met magazine: Whoever loses the big game this Sunday will donate 48 (get it, Super Bowl XLVIII?) footballs to the youth charity of their choice.
We weren’t the only ones inspired to bet on the blue and orange this week. Here, just a few of other Denver businesses and departments that have taken on their Seattle counterparts.
Denver Zoo vs. Woodland Park Zoo
The stakes: If the Broncos’ win on Sunday, a case of Washington apples will be hand-delivered by a Woodland Park Zoo employee to the Denver Zoo, and subsequently fed to Przewalski’s horses (pictured, above). Also, the Seattle zoo representative will spend a day with the horses—the original broncos—sporting an orange and blue jersey. If the Broncos face doom, a case of trout will head to Woodland Park Zoo to be gobbled down by sea eagles.
West Flanders Brewery vs. Elysian Brewing Company
The stakes: The wager between West and Elysian is serious (in brewing terms). The losing team will pay for the winning team’s head brewer to come to their city and take over the loser’s brewing equipment to craft a beer of their choice. The host brewery will also be forced to fly the champion’s flag high for two weeks or until the kegs of bet-beer are cashed, whichever happens first. “My suitcase is packed and I already have the Broncos flag folded up for the trip,” says West Flanders’ head brewer Brian Lutz. “The Seahawks are a great team, but Manning and the Broncos are going to stampede to victory in New Jersey.”
Denver Fire Department vs. Seattle Fire Department
The stakes: The bet between Denver fire chief Eric Tade and Seattle fire chief Gregory Dean is a win-win situation for fire safety. The end-game—proposed by a manufacturer of fire safety products—is to donate 250 smoke alarms to the winning team and 100 smoke alarms to the l0sing team. The catch? The defeated fire chief will have to install each smoke alarm while sporting the victor’s jersey. Burn.
Denver Art Museum (DAM) vs. Seattle Art Museum (SAM)
The stakes: These two daredevils—Christoph Heinrich of DAM and Kimerly Rorschach of SAM—are betting actual pieces of artwork on their beloved football teams (on loan). Heinrich is confident the Broncos’ skills will keep The Bronco Buster—a bronze masterpiece and part of the western American art collection—inside the DAM. “We know the Broncos won’t be busted on Super Bowl Sunday,” says Heinrich. “I am looking forward to giving the losing team’s mascot a special place of honor in Bronco Nation.”
As it turns out, museums are pretty competitive…
Children’s Museum of Denver vs. KidsQuest Children’s Museum
The stakes: The defeated will donate to the champion’s fundraiser and its CEO will sport the winning team’s colors on Monday, February 3.
NORML’s Colorado Chapter vs. NORML’s Washington Chapter
The stakes: As already noted over, and over, and over again, the two state’s entering Super Bowl combat share another commonality: legal recreational marijuana. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’ (NORML) Washington and Colorado chapters are calling their bet “Bud Bowl XLVIII,” according to twincities.com.
If Denver loses, its NORML chapter will be forced to dress in Seahawks colors and belt out “Purple Haze,” by Jimi Hendrix (a Seattle native). If Seattle is defeated by Denver, NORML’s Washington chapter has to dress in Broncos colors and sing John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High.” Seems fair.
—Image courtesy of the Denver Zoo
