

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Mayor John Tory is betting that the Toronto Argos will “lay a beating” on the Calgary Stampeders in the 105th Grey Cup and he is putting his money and his dignity where his mouth is.

Tory says that he has made a three-part bet with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi on the outcome of this Sunday’s game.

The loser of the bet will have to contribute $5 for every point scored by the winning team to the food bank in the victor’s city and also send the winning mayor a section of local craft beer.

The third and final part of the bet will require that the losing mayor dons the jersey of the winning team at an upcoming council meeting and recites a poem that was written by the opposing mayor.

“My understanding is that when past poems of this kind have been read at city council they are quite embarrassing, so I am planning to avoid having that happen,” Tory told reporters prior to helping raise the Argos flag outside city hall. “I can almost taste the beer and I can almost hear the sounds of Mayor Nenshi reading poetry at Calgary city council.”

Tory, who once served as the commissioner of the CFL, told reporters that there is “nothing more exciting” than Canadian football.

He called it a “uniquely Canadian game” that should be celebrated, especially given the fact that the Argos are in the big game.

“The Argos are the oldest professional sports team in North America that still plays under its original name. They have won 16 Grey Cups so far and I think 17 in 2017 sounds like a pretty good formula,” Tory said.

The Argonauts last appeared in the Grey Cup in 2012, also against the Stampeders.

They won that game 35-22 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Rogers Centre.