While promotions can be good, they sometimes don’t work out exactly the way you want them to. A sports bar cheering for the University of Iowa’s football team offered patrons free beers until the team scored. Spoiler alert: the team ended up getting shut out.
Jeremy Gordon, a longtime fan of the University of Iowa’s football team, was watching as the Hawkeyes took the field in the Big Ten championship and actively hoping they wouldn’t score. Gordon was among the many Hawkeye fans who were looking to take advantage of a promotion at X-Golf Cedar Rapids, an indoor golf facility and sports bar.
The promotion of a lifetime allowed customers golfing on X-Golf’s simulators to order an endless supply of free beers during Iowa football games until the team scored its first points. “I kind of wanted us to not score any points in the first few drives,” Gordon said. “Get a couple of beers in, at least.”
Gordon did end up coming out on top as Iowa lost 26-0 against a heavily favored Michigan team. X-Golf was also handed a devastating defeat, with over 100 free beers given to patrons until the end of the game, a giveaway that cost the business about $500.
According to the assistant manager of X-Golf, Chad DeMaria, the promotion has lasted throughout the entire season during Iowa games. It ran smoothly and was well-received but DeMaria knew the bar’s promotion would blow up in his face eventually
“Our defence and special teams score as often as our offence, probably,” DeMaria said. “So it’s a risky venture.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/12/04/iowa-bar-free-beers-football/