
January 22, 2025
'Today' show co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin are betting on what team will win Sunday when the Eagles play the Commanders in the NFC Championship. Whoever's favorite team loses will have to endure a comical punishment on air, which viewers can vote on.
The Eagles take on the Commanders on Sunday in the NFC championship game, and the showdown has ruffled up a rivalry between two "Today" show hosts.
Savannah Guthrie is rooting for the Birds, while her co-anchor Craig Melvin is a Commanders fan, so the pair decided to have a little fun by proposing a friendly bet. To heighten the stakes, they announced Wednesday that fans can vote online between three goofy punishments that the person whose team loses would have to endure on air.
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The consequences include doing a "shoey" — an Australian drinking tradition in which a person chugs alcohol from a shoe — or wearing a sign in the New York City subway reading "Ask me about the bet I lost," or getting a temporary tattoo of the other person's face in a "prominent" place for a week.
The tattoo option was winning by a wide margin on Wednesday afternoon, although I think it would be hilarious to see the loser sipping from footwear — especially since they suggested they may have to drink from their competitor's shoe. Commenters on a "Today" show Instagram post added other suggestions like having Melvin sing the Eagles' fight song if he loses, or having Guthrie wear a Commanders shirt if she loses.
Guthrie was not a Birds fan by birth. She was born in Australia and grew up in Arizona. Her Philly native husband Michael Feldman brought her into the fandom. As another "Today" show co-host Carson Daly joked, Guthrie became a fan of her "beloved" Eagles "by way of marriage; it's a law." Guthrie and her family have been spotted at Lincoln Financial Field for games, including for the NFC championship in 2023 when the team last won the conference title.
Melvin, on the other hand, has been a Washington fan since he was a kid growing up in South Carolina. The Commanders sent him a special jersey earlier this month to commemorate his first year as "Today" co-anchor.
The Eagles-Commanders game is Sunday at 3 p.m., so the punishment will likely air sometime early next week.
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