Will His Middle Name Be Dumbass?

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Feb 9, 2007 12:25AM

We all know that gambling and the Super Bowl go hand in hand. The Vegas line on the game is available even before the clock expires in the conference championship games. There hasn't been a single Super Bowl party without "squares" since 1974. Even the opposing cities' mayors get into the fray with their wagers of local delicacies.

But maybe it's not the best idea to go making your Super Bowl bets in bars. A little booze, and who knows what kind of crazy wagers you'll make. With plenty of witnesses present to ensure you pay up.

That's just what happened to one Scott Weise in a Decatur, Illinois bar last week. In front of a crowd, he signed a pledge that if the Bears lost the Super Bowl to the Indianapolis Colts, he'd legally change his name to Peyton Manning. He didn't even get any points in this bet.

Sure enough, the Bears lost to the Colts 29-17, so now the 26 year old Staples employee has begun the legal paperwork to change his name. On Tuesday, he went to the Macon County Court and started the process of changing his name. He will now have to advertise his intended name change in the local paper and have a judge OK the change. Let's hope this judge bails Weise out by rejecting the petition.

"I made the bet, and now I've got to keep it," said Weise. So since his sense of honor seems to be greater than his common sense, the judge is apparently the only thing between him and a lifetime of ridicule. Of course, in a small town maybe that's better than not being able to show one's face in their favorite watering hole.