Football Is Way More Important Than Food

I meet up with a friend after a busy day at work. We decide to grab a bite to eat and go to a pub just a couple of minutes away from my store. As we enter, there are signs advertising that a big football match is on tonight, starting in about an hour’s time. The pub is already full, except for the table directly beneath the (currently muted) big-screen television as you can’t really see the television from there. Neither of us is interested in football, and we are pretty sure we’ll be long gone before the match actually starts, so we take the table and place our orders.

After a while, our drinks have still not shown up. I’m quite thirsty after dealing with customers all day and eventually go to the bar to ask where the drinks are.

Barman: “I’ll bring them over.”

Another ten minutes go by and I have to chase them up again. The drinks finally arrive, but now we are waiting for our food. By this point, we have been there nearly an hour and suddenly, the television is unmuted as the buildup to the football match begins. As we are directly below it, all we can hear is the very loud audio from the television. We can’t hear each other speak.

I go to the bar.

Me: “Excuse me, but we have been waiting a long time for our food. Is it going to be ready soon?”

The barman is clearly annoyed that I am interrupting him watching the match.

Barman: “Yeah, sure.”

Minutes later, my friend’s meal arrives, but mine doesn’t. I tell my friend to begin eating and he has nearly finished by the time my meal arrives. I put a few chips into my mouth and they are cold! My meal was obviously left on the counter and forgotten about. I go to the bar once more and this time I ask for the manager.

Me: *To the manager* “Look, I really don’t want to complain. I work with the public myself—” *points at my work uniform* “—so I know what customers can be like, but we waited ages for our food and then my meal was cold. It’s inedible. I would like a new meal, please.”

The manager huffily says he will refund the entire order. After the refund has gone through…

Manager: “Do you still want your food?”

The temptation to just leave is great, but I have been waiting too long for this and as it is now free, why not?!

Me: “Yes, thank you.”

My new meal arrived, and it was warm, but by this point, the football match was at halftime and the fans in the pub were getting louder. Once I finished my meal, my friend and I left, and we haven’t returned. The pub itself closed a few months later.