Hockey fan begs to delay haircut bet punishment to avoid ruining sister's wedding photos + UPDATE
"AITA for asking to postpone a punishment for losing a hockey bet?"
HockeyBet_TA
I've asked friends for their input and it's been mostly split evenly, with two or three people more people siding with my friend Jermaine. I (24M) am originally from Denver but I currently live in Las Vegas.
My best friend Jermaine (also 24M) has lived in Vegas for most of his life. We're both massive hockey fans: I have been an Avalanche fan for as long as I can remember, and Jermaine is proud to say he's been a VGK fan since Day 1.
When it was announced that the Avs and the VGK were going to face off during the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, we had to make a bet. We decided that the fan of the losing team will get their hair cut by the winner.
The Avs lost. I will accept the haircut, but not right now. All I asked was if we can postpone it by a few weeks. We never set a date for when the haircut has to take place. But I'm due to serve as a groomsman for my sister's wedding two weekends from now.
I at least owe it to her to have some nice wedding pictures and not another reminder that her brother is an idiot and that our team lost to the most hated team in the West Division.
Jermaine, on the other hands, thinks that I should suck it up and take the haircut when he so demands it. As I said before, our friends are split on the issue but a few more are siding with Jermaine on the grounds that a "bet is a bet". I'm posting here for an outside opinion. AITA?
Here were the top rated comments from readers in response to the OP's initial post:
Malacoda85
NTA. You made the bet, not your sister. Your buddy shouldn't be punishing your sister for your sport's bet (even if you do both like the same team). Jermaine is going to get his due out of you in a couple weeks, what's it matter if it's now or then?
He's not a bookie and this was in good fun, not like you intend to pull back on the bet. Just tell him that it's not for you, it's for your sister - if he really is your best friend he should understand. And to soften the blow, offer to let him shave dumb stuff into your hair as you get it shaved off and take pictures (I've suffered this fate).
UltronCalifornia
No. NTA. You just need to decide if your relationship with your childish friends is more important than your relationship with your sister. Seems pretty clear to me how you feel.
Setting boundaries even with friends is healthy and important, and your friends should recognize that your sisters wedding is more important than any sports bet. Obviously. I truly cannot express the level of disdain I have for those people. They watched The League and decided that's how they wanted to live their lives.
HockeyBet_TA (OP)
Take my word for it, outside of hockey season, Jermaine is one of the kindest, most generous, loyal people I know. He literally once gave someone his jacket off of his back. Not many people can say that about their best friend. It's whenever the VGK win that his jerk side comes out. Then again, people can say the same about me.
JustNoThrowsAway
ESH. You're an AH for taking part in a stupid bet so close to your sister's wedding when it could ruin pictures. Your friend is an AH for trying to force the "punishment" so soon when you have a reasonable postponement request.
highwoodshady
ESH Your both AHs. You made a stupid bet with the knowledge that your sister was getting married shortly after the finals.He's an AH for trying to forcefully cut your hair before your sister's wedding. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Both of you need to knock it off.
Three weeks later, the OP returned with an update.
HockeyBet_TA
Even though this post didn't get a lot of attention, I'm back with a conclusion. I took you guys' advice and try and see if I can talk some sense into Jermaine. I waited a few days for him to get off his VGK winning streak high. I think seeing his team get beaten by the Habs humbled him a bit. Anyway, I brought up asking to postpone The Humiliation and this time Jermaine was more open to it.
Especially when I brought up the thing that was on the line... my sister's wedding. My older sister is normally chill AF, but even she had a few Bridezilla moments leading up to yesterday. To be honest, I don't blame her.
Planning a wedding is stressful, but it was worse during the past year. I had to point out to Jermaine that this was a big deal for her before reminding him of the crap he went through when HIS sister was getting married. If he was me, he would have been the one begging to hold off on the punishment.
In the end, Jermaine agreed to wait until after the wedding. We made up and agreed to have some kind of boundary when it comes to future bets. Especially when the humiliation may affect others like our families and other friends.
That being said, the DMs I got calling me and Jermaine a couple of immature manchildren were uncalled for. We may have been making stupid hockey bets since 2017, but we're also first responders with our own places, SOs, and all the other adult things.
Just let us continue to do this one stupid thing (as long as we aren't harming others anymore). BTW, Jermaine and I had a blast reading through the comments and DMs later. If you thought this was a stupid humiliation, we've done punishments straight from "Kenny vs. Spenny" episodes.
Which leads me to today. Jermaine showed up at my apartment at 10 AM this morning with a pair of scissors and some clippers. Now I look like what would happen if Harry Potter lost a fight to a lawn mower. Work is going to be rough for the next two weeks...
Here were the top rated comments from readers in response to the OP's post:
sweetpup915
I mean to be honest op was right. There was no timeline. If you're gonna bet then bet with specifics. Otherwise expect the loser to bring out reasonable (or not reasonable) technicalities.
BeeEyeAm
Why can't we just have fun silly things in our lives without people crapping on it! We all deserve levity and laughs, even those who think they have say so about others getting some laughs in!
bob-loblaw-esq
They are immature man-children but that’s the spice of life baby. I’m glad they get to continue to have their fun but I’m mad there wasn’t a pic.