CHICAGO — Dyed hair and booze are on the line for a Super Bowl bet between two Lakeview bars.
Managers at Brendan's Pub, a pro-Patriots establishment, and Newport Bar and Grill, a Seahawks-supporting joint, have wagered the following: The loser will have to dye their hair the opposing team's colors for a week and buy the winner his favorite bottle of liquor.
"I don't want to have to dye my hair," said Brendan's Pub owner/manager Stephen Hill of Lincoln Square, a Massachusetts native and lifetime Pats fan. He would have to change his grayish hair to Seahawks green and blue with a New England loss.
"This raises the drama of the game a lot," Hill said.
Justin Breen says rivalries are real between the bars:
Hill made the bet with Newport manager Scott Johnston, who had a similar wager with a manager at pro-Bronco bar Irish Oak last year. Johnston, of Lakeview, hopes to pull off a second straight victory and avoid the embarrassment of donning the Pats' red-and-blue hairstyle for a week.
"It's great for us because we get to have a friendly bet with a neighboring bar," Johnston said. "It creates a fun rivalry between ourselves and Brendan's for the big game, which wouldn't have really been there before."
Hill opened Brendan's, 3169 N. Broadway, in 2006 and it's been a Pats bar since. Newport, 1344 W. Newport Ave., started hosting local Seahawks supporters, Hawks Nest Chicago, in 2013.
Johnston, who isn't a big-time Seahawks fan, doesn't mind betting anyway.
"I'm doing this bet because I want to show our Seahawks fans and followers that I am dedicated to the team," he said.
If Johnston wins, he'll collect a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon, while a Hill victory will earn him Powers Irish Whiskey. Both boozes are about $30 a bottle.
The defending champion Seahawks face the Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
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