MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTVO) — Packers fans at Jack’s American Pub in Milwaukee were stuck with stunned expressions and expensive tabs after a deal for free drinks fell through at the last second.
Fans flocked to Jack’s on Monday for quite the promotion. The bar offered to pick up all drink tabs if the New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.
The deal appeared promising after former Packers and current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was forced to leave the game due to injury. (It was later determined Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon, putting him out for the remainder of the season.) Drinks began to flow as many believed a Jets loss was all but guaranteed, according to Milwaukee’s WDJT, which was broadcasting live from the bar.
However, sports are known to break hearts — and bank accounts. The Rodgers-less Jets outscored the Bills 13-3 in the second half, winning the game on a miraculous walk-off punt return for a touchdown.
A dejected crowd looked on in muted disbelief, with some shaking their head and others polishing off their final drink.
“People are realizing the bar tabs they’ve been racking up all night, thinking certainly with Rodgers hurt, the bar was going to be paying that tab. It is setting in they are going to have to go to the bar and pay that tab,” WDJT reporter A.J. Bayatpour said, live from the bar.
The outlet reported that 350 people had opened tabs, with the single biggest bill totaling $160. The promotion prohibited group orders, beer pitchers, and top-shelf liquor.
Though the promotion was supposed to last throughout the season, Rodgers’ injury will likely end the offer prematurely, as Jack’s stipulated Rodgers must start each game.