There will be more than championship rings on the line when the New Westminster Hyacks and the Terry Fox Ravens take to the field for Saturday’s AAA provincial championship game.
On Monday, New Westminster city council directed Mayor Jonathan Cote to challenge Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore to a poetry wager as part of the 2017 Subway Bowl.
“During the Grey Cup, the mayors of Calgary and Toronto put out a bit of a poetry challenge to each other. Mayor Neshi, yesterday in council, had to read out a poem written by John Tory and the City of Toronto essentially praising the Toronto Argonauts for their victory,” Cote told the Record Wednesday. “I put out the gauntlet to Mayor Moore and asked if he would be open to the poetry challenge as well, and he accepted.”
After the Toronto Argonauts beat the Calgary Stampeders 27 to 24 in Sunday’s Grey Cup, Calgary Mayor Naheed Neshi had to don an Argos jersey and recite a poem praising the winning team. The poem ended with the line: “Now we have business to do and I must end this tale of woe, but I have to wrap it up by saying, ‘Go Toronto Argos, go, go, go.’”
The Grey Cup wager also required the losing mayor to contribute $5 for every point scored by the winning team to a food bank in the winning mayor’s city and to send the winning mayor a selection of local craft beer.
The New Westminster Hyacks and the Terry Fox Ravens will hit the field at B.C. Place on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
“I might even have to contact our poet laureate to see if I can get a little assistance on that because my poetry skills are a little rusty. It should be a fun challenge,” Cote said of the poem he hopes Moore will be forced to read with a New West win. “We are really excited. Here in New West, I think this is the first time our high school football team has made the high school provincial championship. This is a pretty exciting time.”
While there’s plenty of events happening around New West on Saturday night, Cote plans to be in the stands at B.C. Place cheering on the Hyacks.
“It’s a busy time of year but this is the first time our high school team has made the provincial championship – I think they need the support of the mayor,” he said. “I am looking forward to heading out there. I think me and my daughter are going to go out there and cheer on the Hyacks.”
In September, Cote made a wager with Peterborough Mayor Daryl Bennett about the winner of the Mann Cup, with the losing team’s mayor having to wear the opponent’s jersey at a city council meeting. When he came out on the losing end of that challenge after the Peterborough Lakers defeated the New Westminster Salmonbellies, Cote was seen sporting a Lakers jersey at a variety of venues around town.
