Isle officials fulfill pineapple payoffs
Gov. Linda Lingle and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann are making good on their bets over the outcome of the Sugar Bowl.
Lingle ordered eight Hawaii-grown pineapples Friday. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue should receive them by Wednesday, said Russell Pang, Lingle spokesman.
Maui Pineapple Company is also donating a dozen Maui Gold pineapples to the city to settle Hannemann's bet with Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davidson and shipping them next week. The University of Georgia campus is in Athens.
"I would love to have some peaches here so we can have some peach cobbler and peach pie. But I'm sure that the pineapples, Maui Gold, will also help to spread tourism and Hawaii products," Hannemann said.
Lingle and Hannemann wagered Hawaii pineapples on a University of Hawaii win. Perdue and Davidson bet Georgia peaches on a Georgia Bulldogs win. The Bulldogs beat the Warriors 41-10.
Maui Pineapple also bet on the Warriors, one pineapple for each member of the Georgia football team. The company is sending several dozen Maui Gold pineapples to the Bulldogs team. It is also sending several dozen pineapples to the Warrior team next week along with a mahalo card signed by employees of parent company Maui Land & Pineapple Company to show their appreciation.
Hannemann believes Hawaii fans impressed bowl game officials, who consider team support and how much economic activity supporters generate when the hand out team invitations.
"They shopped till they dropped. They ate till they passed out," Hannemann said of the thousands of Hawaii fans who traveled to New Orleans for the game.