Back in 1996, I was a cocky college student in Washington, D.C., and I was convinced the Packers were on the verge of a 10-year dynasty. So, one night, the trash talking got a little out of hand with my dear friend, Shweta, and her older brother, Anish.
Shweta and Anish were (and still are) die-hard Steelers fans, and I remember trying to console my weeping friend after Pittsburgh got smoked by Dallas in Super Bowl XXX. Even after they lost, they were sure the Steelers would rise again. I, meanwhile, expected the Packers to go undefeated for the rest of the decade.
I don't recall the actual events that transpired, but before the night was over, Anish and I had made a lofty bet: we'd wager $500 on the outcome of a Packers-Steelers Super Bowl, no matter when it happened, no matter where we were.
If that wasn't bad enough, a bit later, Anish and I upped the ante to $1,000. In 1996, after all, this seemed like a pretty safe bet.
So when the Steelers knocked off the Jets Sunday night, I knew my day of reckoning was coming. Though Shweta and I have sadly grown apart over the years (time and distance will do that), I sent her a text: "Your brother and I have something to discuss," I wrote. She replied that she was thinking the same thing.
I can't say I was looking forward to this conversation.
Back on the home front, my wife was understandably less than impressed to find that I placed a huge bet with no expiration date, even though this went down at least six years before I even met her.
And indeed, I'm not really in a spot where I can drop a grand on a football bet, especially not one I'm not positive I'd win. The Steelers scare me a little, and this is far from a sure thing.
In fact, I'm not even inclined to predict who will win this game, but that's not the reason I'm a little nervous here. Really, the hubris of a 21-year-old is just giving away to a more stoic 36-year-old who is making monthly contributions to a college fund.
Yesterday, as I tracked down Anish to see how he feels about this terribly bad idea, he beat me to the punch and sent me a e-mail. His recollection of "The Bet" was only $100. He's wrong, because I think about this every time both teams are in the playoffs, but I can live with wagering a hundy on the Super Bowl.
After all, in 45 years of Super Bowls, this match-up has never happened. It's worth getting excited for and putting a little money on my hometown, even though I've never ever bet on a football game.
I'm just glad Anish recognizes the folly of some dumb college students talking smack and "forgot" the extra zero in our 15-year-old wager.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
