Hamilton vs. Overland Park: Mayors make wager on Bengals vs. Chiefs playoff game

Locals are hungrier for a win, Moeller says

Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller announced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that local officials accepted a bet on the upcoming Bengals vs. Chiefs playoffs game from the second-largest city in the Greater Kansas City area — Overland Park.

Moeller was wearing a brighter tie than he often wears, featuring orange, black and yellow stripes. He said people who weren’t around for the Bengals’ two Super Bowl appearances during the 1980s “don’t know what this’ll be like if we get to the Super Bowl. Think it’s kinda crazy now? Just wait.”

The Hamilton mayor said he received an email late Sunday night, and that Overland Park, Kansas “must have done their homework, pretty quick, I guess, because they found out we’re the second-largest city, next to Cincinnati.”

While Hamilton is far smaller than Overland Park, (63,399 according to the 2020 Census, compared to 197,238), Moeller said he believes Hamilton residents are hungrier for a win.

Moeller said the mayor of Overland Park, who he called “a super-nice guy,” told him, “I wish I had a river in my city.”

If the Bengals win, Hamilton officials will receive barbeque from there.

“If we happen to lose, we’ve got 12 Richards (Pizza) steak sandwiches, six bottles of Neal’s (Famous BBQ) sauce, and a case of water going to Overland Park,” Moeller said.

The Cincinnati Bengals play the Kansas City Chiefs at 3 p.m. Eastern Sunday. The winner moves on to the Super Bowl.

Moeller has been known to make friendly wagers with other city mayors in the past. In the Summer of 2021 he challenged the mayor of Sioux Falls, SD on the outcome of the West Side Little League Word Series championship.

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