PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- When the Patriots played the Eagles in the Super Bowl, just about everyone in these parts thought for sure the Pats would win.
That included Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling. He was so confident he made a bet with the mayor of Portland, Pennsylvania. Today it was time for him to pay up.
One of the first things you notice about Mayor Ethan Strimling is his full head of lush, impeccably styled hair.
“He almost looks like a human Ken doll with his hair, that’s how good looking his hair looks. It’s real too, I don’t think he uses much product,” said Portland, Pennsylvania Mayor Lance Prator.
But he woke up on this day pondering life without any hair.
“The day I made this bet, I thought it was a sure bet. I thought it was going to be easy,” said Mayor Strimling.
Most friendly bets on sporting events involve local food or beer, but the mayor of Portland, Pennsylvania, population 579, didn’t have any of that to offer.
“No craft beers. We have some eels that come out of the Delaware River. I don’t think he would want an eel. I had to come up with something creative to offer,” he said.
So the bet was hair and on this day it was paid off in a room full of enthusiastic elementary school students. Mayor Strimling learned it wasn’t easy for the Patriots against the Eagles and it’s certainly not easy watching your hair fall to the floor. Now instead of people commenting on his lush locks, they're offering him hats.
“People have been doing that all week long and I appreciate it,” he said.
When it was done, the mayor had no regrets. He turned this into an event raising more than $3,000 for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital.
“I think I’m not going to be wagering too many more times, I have to say. If anything we want to teach these kids is that gambling doesn’t pay," he said.
In a show of sportsmanship, the mayor of Portland, PA said what the heck, I’ll get my head shaved too.
While both mayors supported and rooted for their hometown teams in the Super Bowl, the ironic twist to this whole story is that both of them are actually New York Giants fans.