Hundreds of Milwaukee bar patrons who hoped to score free drinks through its offer to pay their tabs whenever the New York Jets, and former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, lose had to pay up after the Jets got an overtime win despite an injury that took Rodgers out of the game.
Jack’s American Pub announced its “Jets Lose, You Win” promotion two weeks ago, offering to pay the bar tabs of all participating customers when the Jets — and Rodgers — lose. Patrons faced conditions, including that Rodgers had to start the game and their tabs had to be opened 15 minutes before kickoff.
During Monday’s game between the Jets and the Buffalo Bills, many customers at the Milwaukee bar cheered, sensing a free night of drinking, when Rodgers left in the first quarter with an injury. That injury turned out to be a torn left Achilles tendon that ended Rodgers' debut season with the Jets. But the team went on to win the game 22-16 in overtime, dashing customers’ free drink hopes.
Following Rodgers’ injury, bar owner Scott Schaefer said people began ordering more drinks because they felt more certain of a Jets loss. He said emotions in the bar were “mixed” when they ended up winning.
Olivia Fallon, a manager at Jack’s American Pub, said about 350 patrons took up the bar’s offer Monday night and the average tab ended up being between $50 and $60.
“But there were some outliers. There was a $160 tab, a $130 tab, here and there," she told WDJT-TV on Tuesday, calling Monday night one of the bar’s biggest nights of the year.
With Rodgers now out for the season, Schaefer said his establishment still wants to do a promotion related to the Jets, but the bar has not yet determined what that will be.
“We’re going to try to do something else. We want to see what happens over the next couple of days,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We want to keep the promotion going, but in what form, we don’t know.”
Any professional athlete faces pressure to win, but the stakes are higher at the World Cup, where soccer players carry the added burden of an entire nation's expectations. To rise to the occasion, athletes "have to have a shared vision and a greater purpose," says Jon Gordon, the author of 'The Power of Positive and Leadership.'
Most World Cup fans may have their money on the usual contenders: Brazil, France, and Germany. But there are a few teams and players that have the potential to upend the game and surpass expectations, says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of The Banter.
The battle between Microsoft and Amazon is heating up. According to a Reuters report, Microsoft is working to develop cashierless technology to compete with Amazon, which recently introduced its first check-out free grocery store in Seattle.
The Boring Company has won the bid to build Chicago's Hyperloop. Elon Musk's company was one of four competing for the project. The Hyperloop will connect commuters between the city and O'Hare International Airport.
The president of the Staten Island Yankees joins us to talk about his team's temporary rebranding. For all five of its Saturday night home games this season, the team will play as the Staten Island Pizza Rats. The team's president Will Smith tells us the story behind this campaign.
The minor league baseball team is temporarily rebranding itself this season to incorporate the famous rodent that dragged a pizza slice down New York City's subway steps. "It's an aggressive name, I think it's probably a little edgy, a little different," said Staten Island Yankees president Will Smith.
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico will jointly host the World Cup in 2026, bringing the sporting event back to U.S. soil after a 30-plus-year hiatus. "I think it offers an aspirational platform for young players today," says Dan Flynn, U.S. Soccer CEO.
The driving range-slash-entertainment venue includes bars and restaurants, turning golf into a fun activity for all demographics, says Topgolf executive chairman Erik Anderson.
The 2018 World Cup starts on Thursday, and Jason Gurwin, co-founder and CEO of FOMOPOP, discusses the best ways to watch all of the soccer games from Russia.
The Philadelphia rapper and die-hard 76ers fan Freeway wants LeBron James to forsake Cleveland and Los Angeles, and take his talents to the City of Brotherly Love.
The vote this week for host of the 2026 World Cup will be a test of FIFA's efforts to clean up its act after a corruption scandal rocked world soccer's governing body three years ago, said Ken Bensinger, author of "Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sports Scandal."
The co-creator of the Bikini Body Guide, which currently reaches a global online community of over 35 million women, talks about how the app acts like a personal trainer in your pocket.
