If it happens – and it’s a big, BIG if – this will be one of the greatest moments in TV history. Never mind simply saying “greatest in Inside the NBA history” … we’re talking all TV, for all time. Shaq… eating a frog!?!?
Here it is: The college football National Championship is coming up on Monday, January 9th. It’ll be played at the amazing SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and will feature defending national champs the Georgia Bulldogs playing against – can we use the “Cinderella” word? – the Horned Frogs of TCU / Texas Christian University.
To say it’s an “interesting” matchup would be a huge understatement. The playoff games last weekend (as of this writing) were both amazing. Georgia beat the Ohio State Buckeye. The game ended exactly at the stroke of midnight on New Years’ Eve, and even pre-empted the regular New Year’s Eve broadcast from Times Square in New York City. Amazing.
In the earlier game, TCU beat the Michigan Wolverines in yet another amazing game. Final score there was 51-45 in a game that went back and forth many times and – like the Georgia / Ohio State game – came down to the last few seconds to determine the winner.
So now the Championship game is set. Again, by the time you read this, the game may have already been played. Oh, to have that time machine to be able to come back from the future and place a little wager! We hope and trust it was a good game!
Now, where does Shaq fit into all this? On Inside the NBA this week, ringleader Ernie Johnson went out on a limb and predicted a big Bulldogs win. Why? Simple, Johnson is a UGA grad. So no big surprise. Johnson picked his Dawgs to win it… even giving a final score of 45-17.
O’Neal of course went to LSU, so he has no connections (that we can figure out) to either school. Still, he was ready to make a little wager against Ernie when he heard the prediction.
Shaq: “Ernie, can I make you a bet?”
Johnson, “Yes, what’s the bet?”
O’Neal: “If Georgia beats TCU, I’ll eat some frogs. I’ll eat a horned frog.”
The bet was accepted and the two men shook hands to seal the deal. Co-host Charles Barkley – who’s been known to do a little wagering in his day – suggested Johnson give Shaq 17 points to cover the spread in the game.
Here at the offices of the ShaqFu Radio blog, we took the liberty of checking the latest Las Vegas line for the game. Things can always – and usually do – change as the kickoff approaches. But as of this writing, the line is officially 12.5 points in favor of Georgia.
We’re hoping for a great game… but it sure would be interesting to see the big man down a few frogs! Stay tuned… we’ll have the results of the bet for you, for sure!