Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a reputed Los Angeles Dodgers fan, was forced to sing the Mets team song to House members after he lost his bet with Mets fan Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY).
It took a week for Schiff to gain the courage to publicly humiliate himself after the Mets defeated the Dodgers in their five-game series; the bet only required that he congratulate Israel and “extol the virtues” of the Mets, but the abject Schiff decided to pull out all the stops.
Too bad he was singing and not playing the organ.
Schiff must have known the pain his singing was eliciting, begging after one verse, “Mr. Speaker, please tell me my time is expired.”
Other features of the bet included Schiff wearing a Mets logo for one day while in the Capitol, and bestowing gourmet popcorn from Pauline’s Premier Sweets in Burbank on his Mets adversary. Israel’s punishment would have included supplying New York bagels, and releasing a congratulatory speech in an ad while wearing a Dodgers tie.
Before the series began, Schiff stated, “There isn’t any question in my mind that the Boys in Blue will best the Loveable Losers, and I can already taste the delicious New York bagels that will be flown in the day the Mets blow it. I’m looking forward to seeing the Dodgers continue in their hunt for Blue October after the Mets are long vanquished. Please make sure the lox is fresh, Steve.”
Israel responded, “I hope that Adam will also consider sending a broom so that I can sweep his fancy L.A. popcorn off my floor in the same way my beloved Mets will sweep the Dodgers. Let’s face it; once his team left New York, it was all downhill from there. Let’s go Mets!”
Schiff mentioned that matters could have been worse, adding, “I say thank God the Mets are going to the World Series and not the Yankees.”