It’s safe to say that we’ve all been in the position before of having to choose between two or more events.
As adults, we likely even had to choose the less-wanted event of the two, because we’re responsible.
Also, the event we choose might anger some people, pointed out the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit.
Redditor noahsredemptionark found this out when he chose between two events.
When he saw his wife’s reaction, the Original Poster (OP) wondered if he chose wrong.
He asked the sub:
“AITA for choosing a football game over a wedding?”
The OP wasn’t looking forward to attending his wife’s friend’s wedding.
“So my wife’s friend has a wedding coming up this Sunday that is a few hours away from where we live.”
“The bride is a close friend of my wife’s from college, but I’ve only met her a handful of times and to be honest, she kind of sucks.”
“When we RSVP’d a year ago, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be traveling three hours and spending hundreds of dollars for someone I don’t even really like.”
On the other hand, the OP was really looking forward to a football game.
“The other thing is that when I RSVP’d a year ago, the NFL schedule wasn’t out.”
“I know that sounds silly, but for anyone who follows football, this is a special, special week in sports history because Tom Brady is returning to play the New England Patriots.”
“(For the Brits/non-sports people: Tom Brady was the quarterback for the New England Patriots for 20 seasons and won 6 ‘championships’ with them. He won a ‘championship’ last year in his first season with Tampa Bay and has yet to return to New England. Until this Sunday).”
“I won’t get further into the drama (GOAT vs rookie QB (quarterback), the Brady/Belichick debate), but suffice it to say, this game is monumental and is going to be quite literally historical.”
“A once in a lifetime game for any football fan and especially for a diehard Patriots fan like myself. I can’t miss it.”
The OP looked for a way to watch the game.
“To be honest, I totally forgot about the wedding day until a few weeks ago and when I realized the date, I was devastated, but I didn’t know how to approach the wife.”
“I knew it would look bad, so last week I reached out to her gay best friend, Tito, and asked if he had any plans for this Sunday.”
“He didn’t and was actually thrilled at the idea of accompanying my wife as a plus-one, because he loves dancing.”
The OP’s wife was not comfortable with him not attending the wedding.
“So I floated this idea to her. And she flipped her s**t.”
“She told me it was rude and disrespectful and also downplayed the importance of the game just like I knew she would.”
“I told her Tito was happy to attend, but she just gawked at me and then started crying.”
The OP tried to defend himself.
“I know I *look* like the**hole here but am I?”
“I’m not friends with the bride, my wife is, and watching Brady growing up has affected my life more than the bride ever has or ever will.”
“I also get that bailing on a wedding costs the bride and groom money, so to prevent that, I went out of my way to find a replacement.”
“I told my wife she could tell the bride I was sick and nobody’s gonna question that these days, but she’s still livid.”
“So AITA?”
“Or am I falling victim to a belief system that simply views football as a stupid game and nothing more?”
“Like I said, this game is literally once in a lifetime, something I’d tell my kids about.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some said the OP needed to check his priorities.
“YTA”
“It doesn’t matter how much you like this friend of your wife’s or how well you know her. This is part of being married. You go to events because you are a good partner, not necessarily because you really want to go yourself.”
“I’m a huge football fan too, and while this game is historical, it is still just a week 4 regular-season game. If you want to see it then record it and watch it later. There is nothing about it that will be spoiled by not being able to watch it live.” – poeadam
“I thought maybe it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch it live and maybe he could have talked with his wife (before arranging anything with a friend FFS (for f**k’s sake)…) and if she agreed then cool! But to watch it on TV? Come on.” – LittleRandomINFP
“According to him, it’s such a historic event that he’ll be telling his children about it like it was the Moon Landing or the Fall of the Berlin Wall or something.”
“‘You know, Timmy. Back in ’21, I was there in my living room in front of the TV in my boxer shorts when they broadcast the first NFL game after the 2020 pandemic messed up the schedule for regular football season.'”
“Yeah, cool story, Gramps. Too bad Grandma almost divorced you for being a selfish moron.” – Tough_Stretch
“He says it’s once in a lifetime – one he’ll tell his kids about. The irony is, his kids may not care about football!”
“I’m of the belief that your word is your bond. You agreed to one thing, and you are trying to bail on your wife because something ‘better’ came up. You are letting your wife down for something you can record and watch later.”
“And, if you are so concerned about social media ruining the results…. stay off social media.” – Electrical-Date-3951
Others pointed out it wasn’t that big of a story for his future children.
“His kids are so not going to care about a random week 3 game where Brady played the Patriots and OP didn’t even go to the game.”
“I’m a big sports fan and at least ‘I was at the game’ is kind of a story, but I can’t say I’ve ever cared about ‘Let me tell you the story of a game I watched on TV…'” – locke0479
“I have a ‘let me tell you a story of a game I watched on TV’ story but that’s more of a ‘let me tell you about the time I lost most of my hearing for a couple of weeks because someone set the fire alarms off in my apartment and it was the 9th inning’ story.”
“If he were going to the game, fine. Just watching it on TV, though? Stream it on your phone on mute during the reception like everyone else, or wait to watch the recording when you get home.” – turbulentdiamonds
“As a football fan and a New Englander, this is not a game anyone is going to give a s**t about in a year, let alone one that you’d ‘tell your kids about.'” – penelope_pig
“It’s a regular-season game. Not a championship game, not a playoff game, not a wildcard. Brady is playing against an awful team.”
“We all know what’s gonna happen OP. Now put on your big boy pants and accompany your wife to the event like you said you would. I have a feeling you dip out on her a lot for ‘important games.’ YTA.” – JiminyFckingCricket
The subReddit resoundingly was against the OP on his plan to dodge this wedding. Though he felt the game was far more important than his wife’s friend’s wedding, he had already agreed to attend. Though he might not be the happiest about going, there would be ways for him to catch up on the game later.