Mayor Gregor Robertson and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi have agreed to a friendly wager that involves food, team jerseys and poetry as the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames battle in the NHL playoff series.
So far, it doesn’t look good for Robertson after the Canucks dropped a 2-1 decision Wednesday to the Flames. Game Two goes April 17 at Rogers Arena.
If the Canucks manage to win four games before the Flames do, Nenshi will have to wear a Canucks jersey at a Calgary council meeting, donate five pounds of food to the local food bank for every goal scored by the Canucks and recite a haiku poem written by Robertson.
If the Flames win the series, Robertson must do the same in Vancouver but he will likely be at a disadvantage in the poetry category since Nenshi is a published poet.
In fact, this month — which happens to be national poetry month — Nenshi has used his Twitter account to tweet out a poem every day from various poets.
He’s also challenged Canadian mayors to begin council meetings with a poem.
“The good news is haikus are generally about a change in seasons, about aging, about things being different,” Nenshi said Wednesday during a CBC radio broadcast to announce the wager. “And guess what? The Sedin brothers, five syllables, a good way to start.”
Nenshi appeared on CBC Calgary’s Eyeopener program with host David Gray and was linked in with CBC Vancouver’s Early Edition with host Rick Cluff, who had Robertson on the phone.
Gray’s sense of Robertson’s mood on the program was that he wasn’t enthusiastic about the Canucks chances or expressing a love or passion for the team.
“It’s tough to predict how the Canucks will do against the Flames,” Robertson said. “We only see you guys in the playoffs about once every 10 years, when you actually make it. It’ll be a nice surprise to see you on the ice again, and we’ll do the job of disposing of you in short order.”
Both mayors urged the public to make similar wagers regarding the food bank bet. Local food banks are expected to post details on their websites to encourage donations.
“It’s going to be good,” Robertson said. “We don’t have a lot of people that need food but we’ll be happy to accept mayor Nenshi’s cheque to help cover some food needs here on the West Coast.”
Nenshi, apparently, is already at work on his haikus. Shortly after making the wager, he tweeted this haiku: “The Brothers Sedin/Lululemon underwear/no good for hockey.”
So far, no wordsmithing in return from Robertson, who had to attend to a council meeting after appearing on the CBC program.
This isn’t the first time Robertson has gambled on the Canucks.
In 2010, the mayor had to send a package of goods that included smoked salmon, shortbread cookies and Thai yellow curry with chicken to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley after the Canucks lost to the Blackhawks.
Back in the 2011 playoff run, which saw the Canucks lose to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final, Robertson had to supply Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino with smoked salmon and beer. Robertson also made a personal donation to a charity and raised the Bruins’ flag at city hall for a day.
The turning over of those goods was greatly overshadowed by the riot that ensued after the Canucks lost Game 7. Cars were torched and businesses looted, causing several millions of dollars in damage.
The Canucks missed the playoffs last season.
For the record, the Courier’s K&K department has been crafting playoff haikus since a guy named Luongo was still in town. A video series was also produced.
twitter.com/Howellings
