As is tradition, the mayors from both cities in the National League Championship Series, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, have made a wager on the winner of the series between their respective city’s team. As is often the case, the two mayors are waging local fare: Mayor Nutter is putting up cheesesteaks and Mayor Villaraigosa is offering Pink’s Hot Dogs, if (when) the Phillies win.
More nourishing and sustaining than the fast food items (even the delicious cheesesteaks from D’Alessandro’s), is the promise by both Mayors to spend a day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, if their team wins–that’s right, the winning city’s mayor will serve in the losing team’s city.
This kind of wager impresses because it not only highlights each city’s (fine?) fare, but also, and more important, it focuses attention on the importance of community service in our communities. When elected officials routinely include days of service as a part of their larger service to the community, that municipality improves. Kudos to these mayors for their innovative and thoughtful gestures: they make the series that much more interesting and enjoyable. Perhaps the mayor of the winning city will encourage denizens of the city to join him in the vanquished city’s community.
With the look of the series, I hope that Mayor Nutter will secure an inexpensive flight to the City of Angles.
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