Maybe Cleveland Cavaliers fans can hope for cheap gas if an oil company insults All-Star LeBron James.
Lines were so long Thursday at some of the 86 Papa John’s stores offering a large, one-topping pizza for 23 cents that police stood nearby to make sure people didn’t get unruly.
The Louisville, Ky.-based company agreed to the offer after a franchisee in Washington, D.C., made T-shirts calling star LeBron James a “crybaby.” The shirts referred to James’ complaints about hard fouls during a playoff series victory over Washington. The company also will donate $10,000 to the Cavaliers Youth Fund.
The 23-cent price of a pizza is a homage to James’ jersey number.
“It’s a recession busting offer, and we certainly hope we have made it up to Cleveland,” Tim North, vice president of the company’s northeast division, told WEWS-TV.
One or two people even came by jet charter just for the bragging rights.
There were a few headaches, mostly complaints about long waits and line-cutting.