Miami, Fla., Jun 6, 2013 / 15:25 pm
The last time Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski made a friendly bet with a bishop from Texas, he lost.
Perhaps he will have better luck with his latest bet against San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller as the Miami Heat face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Championship finals that begin Thursday night.
If the Miami Heat lose, Archbishop Wenski will pay up in the form of stone crabs from Islamorada in the Florida Keys and a box of cigars handmade in Miami-Dade County.
If the San Antonio Spurs lose, Archbishop Garcia-Siller will pay with 20 pounds of barbeque and 10 pounds of fajitas.
Archbishop Wenski placed a similar wager in 2011. When the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks, he sent a collection of Key Lime pies, stone crabs, a box of handmade cigars and a fish bowl containing Ft. Lauderdale sand, shells from the beach and water from the Atlantic Ocean to Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of Dallas.
If the Mavericks had lost, Bishop Farrell would have owed his Miami counterpart an assortment of authentic Texas food, as well as a "Don't Mess With Texas" hat.
Despite the loss, it seems Archbishop Wenski is willing to "Mess With Texas" again.
Other bishops have also joined in the fun. Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay and Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh made a friendly wager on the outcome of the 2011 NFL Super Bowl, offering a "wide variety of local foods" to be donated to a food kitchen in the diocese of the winner.
Pork chops and gumbo were on the line for the 2010 Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, with Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein of Indianapolis and Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond of New Orleans placing the bets.
The Heat will face the Spurs Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. The Heat are favored to win, and Archbishop Wenski is confident that the team will not let him down.
"I am looking forward to Texas barbecue," he said at a June 6 press conference, according to the Florida Catholic.
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