Remember less than a month ago when a bar in Milwaukee offered to pay the tab for its patrons every time Aaron Rodgers’ Jets team lost this season? Remember how that quickly backfired on the drunken customers when New York rallied to win in Week 1 after Rodgers tore his Achilles early in the game?
A bar in Chicago thought it could replicate that financial gain this past weekend with a Windy City twist. With the lowly 0-3 Bears hosting the equally awful 0-3 Denver Broncos on Sunday, Claddagh Ring Pub in Lincoln Square was so confident in a Chicago victory that it promised to pay everyone’s tab if the team somehow lost.
It’s at this point we must remind you this is the 2023 Chicago Bears we’re talking about — a franchise so bereft of hope that dumpster fires point and laugh at it. So, yeah, you can guess what happened next.
The Bears lost in excruciating fashion after holding a three-touchdown lead and took Claddagh Ring Pub down with them.
Kris Jackson, who owns the pub, told Block Club Chicago’s Alex V. Hernandez the ordeal cost him about $5,000 in cancelled tabs, but he was mostly just thrilled to see fans coming back out to watch a bad team.
“A lot of people kind of gave up and aren’t willing to waste their Sundays in a bar watching them,” Jackson told Block Club. “I thought it was good idea to create a promotion to get customers to come back and watch the games. You end up losing out on business if customers don’t come in and stick around to watch the whole game.”
Still, it appears the pub has learned its lesson. Jackson said he’ll likely pass on running that same promotion again.
