Count me among the small but hopefully growing number of Saturday Night Live viewers who think that Cecily Strong is an American treasure for her dry wit and adorable-yet-sinister smile. Because I’m a masochist, I still watch SNL religiously, hoping and praying that one day it will be the topical, edgy and hilarious comedy show that it is supposed to be, and Strong, in the meantime, at least distracts me enough from that rising lip corner smirk thing that her Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost does. There aren’t enough words to describe how irrationally mad his smirk makes me.
But it turns out that Strong, a Chicago native, is also a pretty big sports fan, enough that she agreed to face off against New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre Paul for the Fox Sports “You Bet Your Ass” challenge. The bet was simple – Strong picked her Chicago Bulls to beat JPP’s New York Knicks in this past Sunday’s game, and the loser had to do something pretty ridiculous that meant “certain public humiliation.” If you follow basketball, then you know what happened in that game, but let’s go ahead and allow them to set it all up.
JPP might not have the most charisma or comedic timing, but his jokes are pretty strong. Anyway, the Knicks won the game 100-89, so Strong had to hold up her end of the bet and dress up like a cute little dog. Although, JPP didn’t take her for a walk, and that’s pretty disappointing. What’s also disappointing is the fact that Strong admitted that while the Bulls are her No. 1 team, the Knicks are her No. 2.
Oh sweet Cecily, I never imagined that you’d be one of those sports fans that not only has two favorite NBA teams, but also cheers for bitter rivals. This is almost as bad as Colin Jost’s stupid smirk. Almost.
