Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling made good on his Super Bowl bet Friday, welcoming Portland, Pennsylvania, Mayor Lance Prator to Presumpscot Elementary School to see his Maine counterpart get his head shaved.
The haircut was included along with a gift basket of lobsters, local beer, coffee and liquor for Prator, whose Philadelphia Eagles defeated Strimling’s New England Patriots, 41-33, in the NFL championship game.
“Sad day in America today, my friend. Sad day in America,” Strimling told CBS 13’s Jeff Peterson as the two mayors enjoyed Philly-style cheesesteaks at The 5 Spot before the big event. “Lance Prator here suckered me into a bet on the Super Bowl, and I thought it was a sure thing. Tom Brady always wins in the end. But the big ‘sucker’ thing was, he said we could each shave our head, and I said, ‘Well, I’m sure that would be significant for him,’ but it turns out — look at him.”
Strimling, who had a full head of hair and was once described on “The Daily Show” as “the senator from handsome-town,” gestured to the thinning hair of Prator.
“That is not anywhere near as significant as what I am giving up today,” he joked.
The mayor of Portland, PA presents @mayorstrim with an @Eagles hat after Mayor Strimling shaved his head to pay up on a @SuperBowl bet @WGME pic.twitter.com/MzXNR69srs
— Jeff Peterson (@JeffWGME) February 16, 2018
Despite winning the bet, Prator agreed to shave his head as well, Portland ABC affiliate WMTW reported.
In the days leading up to the shaving, Strimling announced he would make the event into a fundraiser for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, with anyone donating at least $100 having a chance to buzz off a little of the mayor’s hair. Among those donating enough for the honor was WLOB radio talk show host Ray Richardson, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The event raised $3,000 for the children’s hospital.
Portland, Pennsylvania, is a two-hour drive north of Philadelphia near the New Jersey border. It has a population of about 500, according to the most recent census estimates.
Despite all the hullabaloo, both Strimling and Prator are New York Giants fans, the Press Herald reported. So good-natured betting aside, both mayors had to endure seeing their team’s longtime divisional rivals, the Eagles, win the Super Bowl.
Bangor Mayor Ben Sprague also made a bet on the Super Bowl against the mayor of Bangor, Pennsylvania, which has a population of about 5,000 and sits near the western New Jersey border.
Sprague’s wager included a box of Maine whoopie pies, a case of Moxie and a donation of Stephen King books to the Pennsylvania community’s public library.
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