Sportscasters Raise Stakes for Midland Versus Abilene Game
By: Austin Kellerman
Updated: October 21, 2010
Most people would probably agree there's already enough at stake when the defending 5A State Champions Abilene High travel west Friday evening to battle undefeated Midland High.
Both teams are 2-0 in conference...
Both average roughly the same points scored...
Both really want to win...
The question of which team will come out on top prompted a "trash talking" segment between the Big 2 sports team at Midland's ABC affiliate, KMID, and the bigcountryhomepage.com sports team that services Abilene's NBC and CBS stations, KRBC and KTAB.
A conversation that began with poking fun at each other ended in a friendly wager on the game -- one that could ultimately leave these sportscasters pretty embarassed.
"How about this? When Midland High wins, you guys have to wear Midland gear next week during the sportscast," Big 2 sportscaster Michael Spencer proposed. "And if somehow Abilene High pulls out a victory, we'll do the same. You in?"
"Why wouldn't we be in?" Manny Diaz of the BCH Sports team responded. "We'll go ahead and put the shirts in the mail. What about raising the stakes a little bit? Maybe a West Texas barbecue? On your dime!"
"Perfect, we'll be sure to clean off the grill," said Spencer. "And we'll see you guys next week in purple and gold Midland High colors," said a chuckling Big 2 Sports Director Caroline Lockwood.
The bet was simple: the loser has to wear the opposing team's colors on TV; the winner gets a traditional West Texas barbecue on the loser's dime.
Both sides are already beaming with confidence.
"I wouldn't have made a bet with these guys if I wasn't sure we were going to win," said BCH Sports Director David Robinett. "I've been doing this for 20 years. As you can imagine, I've embarassed myself plenty of times. However, this won't be one of those times."
"We've already cleaned off a grill at the station and have some Midland High gear packed up in a box," said Lockwood. "I want to make sure this goes out first thing Monday morning. And Abilene, one more thing -- don't just send over brisket. We want a full spread: chicken, pork, sausage, the works."
With the bet now in the bag, these sportscasters will be covering the game with a little more bias than usual. They'll be hoping their hometown team wins Friday and saves them a little embarassment in front of their viewers.
