NFL playoff fever is in full swing – even on Capitol Hill.
Minnesota’s U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar placed a friendly wager on the outcome of Sunday’s Vikings-Seahawks Wild Card matchup with the senators from Washington, according to a statement released by Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office.
At stake is two products near and dear to both Washington and Minnesota: namely, fish and coffee.
Franken and Klobuchar put an undisclosed amount of walleye, plus beans from local favorite Caribou Coffee on the line. Washington Democrats Cantwell and Patty Murray matched their wager with salmon and Starbucks.
Despite a bleak recent history in the Vikings’ matchups with Seattle, Franken was feeling confident.
“As a lifelong Vikings fan, I’ve always bet on the purple,” Franken said in the press release. “And today’s no different. We went into Lambeau Field last weekend and beat the Green Bay Packers, winning our first NFC North title in more than half a decade, and now I’m looking forward to dropping the red-hot Seahawks. Skol!”
Murray sounded equally confident when quoted for the release, forecasting victory for her team and preparing to enjoy the spoils of the wager.
“We’ve seen the Seahawks come back in a big way this season, and I think we can expect the momentum to keep up this weekend,” said Senator Murray. “We are really looking forward to celebrating this playoff win with some Minnesota goods from our colleagues after what I’m sure will be a valiant effort against the Hawks and unstoppable 12th man spirit.”
The senators have even taken to Twitter to rally for their respective teams. Cantwell and Murray posed with a flag representing the Seahawks’ “12th Man” fan contingent on the steps of the state’s capitol this morning.
Cantwell on @Seahawks–@Vikings wager w/@PattyMurray @amyklobuchar @alfranken: "Seahawks &12th MAN won't be stopped." pic.twitter.com/1lIxc4a6d0
— Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) January 5, 2016
Klobuchar and Franken both sent shout-outs to the Vikings on their respective Twitter accounts as well. Klobuchar even found some bipartisan support.
Still celebrating last night's win over #Packers. Looking forward to Sunday's game v. the #Seahawks. #SkolVikings! pic.twitter.com/iqWDPuTvWw
— Al Franken (@alfranken) January 4, 2016
.@vikings Division Champs will now be playing Seattle in MN. In the Walleye vs. Salmon bowl, I'll go with the walleye.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 4, 2016
@amyklobuchar @Vikings Like I said before I'm a conservative, but we come together on this! #SkolVikings
— Bobby Cook (@Hogsnorth) January 4, 2016
No word yet on how the senators plan to honor the bet, but here’s hoping that Franken and Klobuchar are enjoying some fresh Sockeye and a steaming mug of Sumatran this time next week.
