HADLEY — Bruce Jenks will have a bit more than just pride riding on the outcome of Sunday’s Super Bowl 52 matchup between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
For the second straight year, the owner of Maple Valley Creamery has struck up a friendly Super Bowl wager with an ice cream shop in the opposing team’s area. This year’s bet pits the the Hadley creamery against Bassetts Ice Cream in Philadelphia, one of the oldest ice cream brands in America.
The staff of the losing side will have to wear the opposing creamery’s T-shirt for two weeks and serve a team-inspired flavor in honor of the winning team.
“It should be a lot of fun,” Jenks said Thursday. “It definitely makes watching the game a little more intense.”
Although Patriots quarterback Tom Brady famously only eats avocado ice cream, Jenks is proud of the fact that Brady’s family is known to buy his ice cream. On Thanksgiving Day in 2016, Brady’s wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, posted a photo on her Instagram account featuring Maple Valley ice cream on a table with other desserts.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” Jenks said. “That was really cool.”
Alex Strange, a senior account executive for Bassetts, said the company has never participated in a sports-related wager before and that he was thrilled when Jenks reached out to them.
“We jumped at the idea,” Strange said Wednesday. “We’re having a lot of fun with it. Everybody down here is really excited for the game, and so are we.”
Both Jenks and Strange said they are fully confident in their respective teams and are prepared to make good on the bet if the game doesn’t go their way.
The two creameries have already exchanged T-shirts through the mail. Strange said he received a “gaudy looking” package from Maple Valley this week that was covered in “Go Patriots” stickers.
“They’re going to look good in Bassetts blue though,” Strange said, laughing.
In the case of a Patriots loss, Jenks said, Maple Valley will be making an “Eagles mint Oreo” flavored ice cream, representing the Philadelphia team’s green and black colors.
Since the Eagles defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game last week, Strange said, Bassetts’ mint chocolate chip flavor has been flying off the shelf as fans prepare Eagles-themed desserts before the big game.
But if Tom Brady and the Patriots can pull of yet another Super Bowl victory, Strange said, the Philadelphia creamery will be selling a “Patriots peanut butter cup” flavored dish for the next few weeks.
Last year, Maple Valley won a similar wager against Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream in Atlanta after the Patriots pulled off a historic comeback against the Falcons.
“I definitely thought we were going to lose the bet last year,” Jenks said. “Thank God for Tom Brady.”