The Stanley Cup chase has prompted a little friendly fire between Steel City and San José institutions.
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo spokesperson Vanessa Rogier said she's prepping for an Instagram challenge with Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Thursday.
UPDATE: Rogier told 90.5 WESA reporter Liz Reid that the Pittsburgh zoo declined to formally participate. The challenge would've tasked the respective zoo directors with eating penguin food or shark food, aka fish, on camera.
Pittsburgh lobbed the first volley earlier this week:
We’re ready for the sequel tonight @penguins #LetsGoPens #BecauseItsTheCup #StanleyCup #zooforall pic.twitter.com/w5gGxYfe4V
— Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (@PghZoo) June 1, 2016
They aren't the first.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and San José Mayor Sam Liccardo agreed this week to don the captain's jersey of the winning team and pose for photos the day after the final game of the series. The jersey will be donated to the winning mayor's charity of choice -- the Hill House Association for Peduto and Destination: Home for Liccardo.
“There’s no chance for a penguin against a shark, either in nature or on the ice,” Liccardo said. “We’re fired up to bring the Stanley Cup home to San José, and write the next chapter in a story that’s been 25 years in the making.”
Peduto said he has a lot of respect for any team that makes it to the Stanley Cup Final. He's proud of the Pens, he said.
"Sharks may control the waters, but we all know that penguins dominate on the ice," he said.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Dave Cortese set their own wager collecting donations of new and gently used sports equipment for the Boys and Girls Clubs in their respective areas.
Donations will be accepted throughout the series during business hours at the Allegheny County Courthouse’s Information Center in the Courthouse Courtyard off the Forbes Avenue archway.
The puck drops for Game 3 at 8 p.m. Saturday in San José. The Pens lead the series 2-0.
