AIBU - Saturday Night England Match??

[CityMumma78]

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?

I didn’t see if it was the anniversary on the day, but whatever. It’s entirely arbitrary for a meal to be at a certain time, and it isn’t for a football match. While many posters here will say it’s not important, football, and this match in particular is important to the bulk of the country.
There’s no point going, rushing home and seeing just the second half.
I’d suggest sacking it off to watch the game, or alternatively just invite them to yours, buy them a take away and do something together.

I would feel really deflated if I was them and not want to bother now.

I’m all for honouring your commitments, but not when England have got through to the quarter finals without conceding a single goal

this match in particular is important to the bulk of the country.

Is it?

@DappledThings

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.

Unlikely to work, in my experience! If they win the streets are usually heaving and noisy with celebrations and car horns beeping and so on.

But that doesn’t mean you should expect your parents to be happy with a ‘make sure we eat quickly and everyone watches the clock’ deal fit their anniversary meal. If the football was such a huge deal in your family the date should have been already noted before now, just in case.

Yeah, everyone coming round to watch the match and have a takeaway or BBQ could be a really memorable evening. The restaurant will probably be half empty and devoid of atmosphere anyway.

People going on about how important the meal is, and how terrible to change the time which has been set in stone, it was booked only a week ago!

People going on about the game and how important it is, and how terrible to miss it, it was only decided 2 days ago.

Honestly the way people go on about the football is ridiculous. All this build up all the “it’s coming home” with the rehash of that bloody song singing about 30 years of hurt from 30 years ago, and then all the talk of heartbreak when England inevitably fuck up and lose, again.

They only beat Germany through luck, their performance throughout the tournament has been awful.

It is in fact only a game.

There will be other England matches, where England may or may not win. The World Cup is next year. Your parents will only have one anniversary of its kind.

@edwinbear

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.

Lol at this. I'm an adult with several special wedding anniversaries under my belt. To me 6.30 is a little on the late side! The perfect evening would see me having eaten, drunk and generally caroused and in my bed by 9pm. Long live the early bird special!

I’d suggest sacking it off to watch the game, or alternatively just invite them to yours, buy them a take away and do something together.

Really? ‘Sack off’ your own parents’ special anniversary meal?

A week ago you would have been able to work out which matches England could have ended up in.

If football was important to you, you/dp would have done that before agreeing to the date

@AlternativePerspective blimey. I take it by oh don’t like football then 😂

*you

That’s a reasonable request.

Maybe phone the Restaurent and see if they will be screening the match?

@BarbaraofSeville

Yeah, everyone coming round to watch the match and have a takeaway or BBQ could be a really memorable evening. The restaurant will probably be half empty and devoid of atmosphere anyway.

But not if the OP’s parents aren’t football fans. Which they likely aren’t, otherwise they’d have already suggested this sort of change of plan.

The very special anniversary meal was only arranged a week ago, in an informal chain restaurant. It can't be that important.

“Lol at this. I'm an adult with several special wedding anniversaries under my belt. To me 6.30 is a little on the late side! The perfect evening would see me having eaten, drunk and generally caroused and in my bed by 9pm. Long live the early bird special!”

I prefer eating earlier as well.

It is in fact only a game

I'm not at all interested in football and didn't even watch the last match. But at the moment, for a lot of people, the prospect of England winning we won't, we'll lose in the semi finals is a spark of joy after a miserable 18 months so you can't blame people for getting excited and wanting to spend their Saturday evening watching their team play.

@ Ostryga it’s just a game. I’ll probably watch it but really, no-one really expects England to win anyway.

Although I would probably avoid town as it’ll be full of drunk football fans.

@idontlikealdi

The very special anniversary meal was only arranged a week ago, in an informal chain restaurant. It can't be that important.

Doesn’t matter.

Maybe a chain restaurant because that’s what works best for the children included.

Maybe a cost thing.

Maybe they’ve been waiting for the family to suggest doing something.

Doesn’t mean it’s not a special anniversary to OP’s parents.

@Standrewsschool

That’s a reasonable request.

Maybe phone the Restaurent and see if they will be screening the match?

God that’s even worse than what has been suggested. The parents sit there like lemons while people are concentrating on a screen

we won't, we'll lose in the semi finals it’ll be 1-0 to Ukraine. nobody expected them to beat Sweden but they did.

YABU.

Go to the meal as invited. Be gracious.

Just because it’s a ”low key basic chain restaurant” doesn’t mean your parents will be fine about a change of plans.

And then gallop hone with ear plugs in and watch it on iplayer

Yeah tbh I would probably go and have dinner and avoid the match because we’ll be doing our usual of going out on penalties.

At least there’s only a year till the World Cup and more disappointment!

@idontlikealdi

The very special anniversary meal was only arranged a week ago, in an informal chain restaurant. It can't be that important.

Not everyone has lots of money you know. Special anniversary meals can be in other places than posh hotels or upscale restaurants.

About 20 million people watched the football, excluding those watching on catch up. There's nothing wrong in getting caught up in the excitement, even if OP hasn't been filling in her wall chart with all the dates marked off in advance. I think it's reasonable to bring forward the reservation by half an hour, especially as it was fairly informal arrangement given that it was only arranged a week ago.