Nothing Unites The Workers Like Sports

We are at a regional sales dinner. This takes place in October 2016, when a certain baseball team that hasn’t won a World Series in over 100 years is in the postseason. The sales dinner is scheduled during a “win or go home” game.

I’m sitting at the back, sneaking the occasional glance at social media to see how it’s going, when I notice that a coworker at the table in front of me is stealthily live-streaming the game on his phone, but I can’t see the score.

Me: *Quietly* “Psst, [Coworker #1].”

He doesn’t respond.

Me: *Slightly louder* “Hey, [Coworker #1]!”

A different coworker turns around.

Coworker #2: “What’s up?”

Me: “I’m just trying to check the score.”

Coworker #2: “I got you.”

[Coworker #2] nudges [Coworker #1].

Coworker #2: “[Coworker #1], turn your phone to the left.”

Coworker #1: “What? Why?”

Coworker #2: “[My Name] wants to see the score, and so do I!”

Coworker #1: “Sorry! Hang on.”

He angles his phone so all three of us can watch. My boss jabs me in the arm.

Boss: “[My Name], what are you doing?”

Me: “Um… watching the game?”

Boss: “It started?! What’s the score?”

Somehow, we got away with this right under the regional sales manager’s nose, who would’ve absolutely had a fit if he’d caught us.