Oakland politicians have placed their bets on the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and now some other local institutions are getting in on the action.
The Oakland Museum of California has made a friendly wager with the Cleveland Museum of Art over the Finals outcome, with the loser sending a group of children to the winning team’s museum.
If the Warriors win, the Cleveland museum will send 100 children from the YMCA of the East Bay to the Oakland Museum. If the Cavaliers win, the Oakland Museum will send a group of 100 children from the Boys and Girls Club and Fatima Family Center to the Cleveland Museum.
“This wager is a win-win for our cities,” Oakland Museum CEO Lori Fogarty said in a statement. “Like the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA, our museums are dedicated to the health and well-being of children and families in Oakland and Cleveland.”
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee and Sen. Dianne Feinstein have already placed bets with their Ohio counterpart. But Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf couldn’t make a bet with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson because Jackson has grown superstitious about such bets since the Cavs were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 Finals.
Instead Schaaf has thrown her support behind the museum’s bet and a bet between the two cities’ food banks.
Scott Morris, Bay City News
