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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - Saturday Night England Match??

463 replies

CityMumma78 · 30/06/2021 23:50

Hey everyone, please help me…
This Saturday we are due to go out with my parents to celebrate their special wedding anniversary. We are going out to a low key basic chain restaurant with our kids and my brother and his kids and we have two tables booked for 7pm. This arrangement has been in place for 1 week and we all live local so no special guests travelling from miles around to attend. Last week when we were arranging the evening we didn’t even consider the Euro fixtures but because England won last night and are playing on Saturday night we REALLY want to watch the game! I asked my parents if they could change the booking by half an hour which would allow us enough time for a leisurely dinner and taking into account the drive home this would enable us to watch the 2nd half. I have checked at the restaurant and there is plenty of availability to make a slightly earlier booking but when I spoke to my parents last night they have refused, point blank refused to change the booking by half an hour from 7pm to 6.30!! There is no reason other than they don’t want to. I haven’t asked them to rearrange the date I just want to bring it forward by 30 minutes but I have been made to feel guilty for even asking and I’m so angry they they can’t be more flexible to allow us to watch just part of the England game in the quarter finals. My husband doesn’t even want to go now.
Am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
Losttheequipment · 01/07/2021 01:59

YANBU but I suppose you have to balance pissing off the patents vs making as early an exit as possible and going home with your fingers in your ears. Tricky!

Sceptre86 · 01/07/2021 07:23

Staff might be watching the game so you will hear of the result through cheers or groans. You might find that you get phone notifications of the result before you get chance to watch it. My parents would gladly swap to another day but then my dad would prefer to watch the game too. My mum wouldn't but she understands when England play we watch. I'd let your partner stay home and suck it up and go instead if they are adamant they won't change the time.

Arbadacarba · 01/07/2021 07:26

I'd be annoyed if someone asked to change a pre-arranged event because they wanted to watch a football match.

The schedules for this fest of utter tedium- tournament have been all over the papers for weeks on end, including optimistic predictions about the matches England might play in, so if it's important to you, why didn't you check before accepting the invitation?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 01/07/2021 07:28

It's on iplayer. Just select "watch from start" on iplayer when you get home.

Macncheeseballs · 01/07/2021 07:28

Bloody he'll, I hate football but there are being v unreasonable

PuppyMonkey · 01/07/2021 07:32

I can’t imagine why they don’t fancy their special event, which has been booked for ages, is being treated as a trifling annoyance that’s interfering with the sodding football.Confused

Wilma55 · 01/07/2021 07:38

We are going to friends for a meal on Saturday and they have brought the meal forward as they know we would like to watch the match. We will now all watch it together.

edwinbear · 01/07/2021 07:42

YABVU. You are turning their anniversary dinner into an inconvenience that needs to be managed, because of a football game? 6.30pm is far too early for grown ups wanting to enjoy a special evening. Show some integrity and honour the commitment you made. I’d be very hurt and upset if I was them. And your DH is behaving like a toddler.

DappledThings · 01/07/2021 07:47

So even if they agreed to change the booking you would be watching the clock and chivvying everyone along through the meal to ensure you get home to watch something it's perfectly possible to avoid news about and watch on record later.

Yeah, I'd not be too happy about that. I think you should just football is more important to you than your parents, cancel the meal and deal with the fallout rather than try to push the people who are actually celebrating into a stressful cut-down version of their event.

Or just grow up and record it like everyone else has said.

TeapotCollection · 01/07/2021 07:47

Trying to avoid hearing the result isn’t going to work

Looking at the schedule before the meal was booked wouldn’t have worked either, far too many scenarios depending on where we finished in the group

Them refusing to budge for 30 minutes is ridiculous

YANBU

LakieLady · 01/07/2021 07:48

I'd be seriously pissed off if I was expecting to go out for meal because it's a special occasion and someone wanted to rearrange it because of a football match.

Just record it, ffs.

DappledThings · 01/07/2021 07:49

Trying to avoid hearing the result isn’t going to work
Of course it is. Keep your phone and the car radio turned off. Job done.

Macncheeseballs · 01/07/2021 07:49

I'm not sure you can avoid it, I never watch, yet can hear from neighbour Hood noises what is going on

LawnFever · 01/07/2021 07:51

Trying to avoid hearing the result isn’t going to work

Of course it is, I completely missed the result of the last match without even really trying!

Pixxie7 · 01/07/2021 07:51

I am not a football fan but appreciate that it’s massive for those who are. However I would be upset if I had arranged something and knew people wanted to rush off. Although if this was my family I would change the day. To be honest I think your parents are being a bit childish.

sweeneytoddsrazor · 01/07/2021 07:53

How special are we talking? I am a massive football fan and I would not expect to cancel if it was 40 or 50 or something

TeapotCollection · 01/07/2021 07:53

They’ll be in a, presumably busy, restaurant/pub. Someone is bound to make noises about it

Arbadacarba · 01/07/2021 07:54

Looking at the schedule before the meal was booked wouldn’t have worked either, far too many scenarios depending on where we finished in the group

I may be wrong (I've been trying to ignore the whole thing) but this is the Quarter Final, I believe - so will consist of 4 games each lasting a couple of hours - it shouldn't have been impossible to avoid those 4 slots, if it really was important to the OP.

Pedalpushers · 01/07/2021 07:55

I'd imagine that they are put out at the suggestion that their meal is an inconvenience stopping you from doing what you want to do.

I like what pp said - either England lose and you won't have missed anything, or you've got the semi final to look forward to. England aren't exactly the most exciting team to watch in this tournament, their whole strategy seems to be play in as boring a way as possible.

Rockpipit · 01/07/2021 07:55

It's on iplayer. Just select "watch from start" on iplayer when you get home

This. Like another poster said the euro fixtures have been published for ages. Also, if you look ahead a few years you probably won't remember this particular match, whatever happens, so is it really so important compared to your parents' special occasion? I say that as someone who's watched nearly all the Euro matches and so I get the excitement, but if they win, you will have the semi to look forward to.

LadyPenelope68 · 01/07/2021 07:55

It’s a special Wedding Anniversary for your parents, but your priority is a football match? Nice!
YABVVVVVVU

Theluggage15 · 01/07/2021 07:57

They’re being unreasonable, if the arrangement has only been booked for a week, it’s obviously not that big a deal to them, but as a huge football fan, I make sure I avoid any likely important football dates when booking things. Remember this is mumsnet though, where a lot of people have a very sneery attitude towards football, apparently only louts watch it, no women could possibly like it.

sweeneytoddsrazor · 01/07/2021 07:59

Actually I have just realised you made this booking 1 week ago so yes you are totally unreasonable. It was very easy 1 week ago to work out there were only 2 possible nights for quarter finals so if you knew you would want to watch you should have said so then.

WouldBeGood · 01/07/2021 07:59

I think it would be perfectly reasonable to change the night, really so that there’s no pressure to eat up and go!

If they really won’t change, I think if I were you I’d go to the meal and let DH stay home and watch the match. Then at least one of you gets to enjoy it, plus he’ll owe you big time 😃

ThatWasCrazy · 01/07/2021 07:59

I'm not a football fan at all and it wouldn't occur to me to watch it, but you're not cancelling the meal or anything, it's just starting half an hour earlier and they have no reason not to change it except stubborness. YANBU! They are being dicks about it.

And for the those talking about rushing through the meal etc, restaurant bookings are all time limited to an hour and 3 quarters here.

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