Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Milwaukee bar patrons who took up `Jets Lose, You Win' offer had to pay after Jets' surprise win

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

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 13 September 2023 15:11 BST
Jets Rodgers Achilles Football
Jets Rodgers Achilles Football

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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 was 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.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in