In 1000 years, if humanity still exists – which is a big if at this point – historians will study the Relationships subreddit with a keen eye, and through it they will learn just how twisted society was at the turn of the 21st century. It is, without any question, one of the most unhinged corners of the internet; a swirling vortex of people with baffling and unprecedented relationship dramas seeking terrible advice from people with absolutely no right to offer it.
Every now and then we find a post in r/relationships which will echo throughout history – and today is one of those days. Posted in the early hours of this morning by user Itscominghome6618, it posits a simple but unfortunate scenario: this Reddit user, an absolutely football-mad Englishman, has managed to book his wedding on the same day as the World Cup Final.
‘My fiance (27F) and I (30M) are due to get married this Sunday,” the post’s title reads. “My best man has just got 2 tickets for the World Cup Final.”
If you follow that link above, you’ll find that the user – facing a hail of comments from people none-too-impressed with his moral dilemma – has deleted the content of the post, and it has been locked by moderators. Luckily, the Twitter account @redditships, which chronicles the most absurd posts on that subreddit, managed to capture a screenshot before it vanished into the ether.
I encourage you to read it:
My fiance (27F) and I (30M) are due to get married this Sunday. My best man has just got 2 tickets for the World Cup Final. pic.twitter.com/6U8YHyiT38
— relationships.txt (@redditships) July 8, 2018
Look, we’ve all been at a wedding reception which coincided with a big AFL or NRL game, and the pressure release valve in that situation inevitably involves five or six blokes with their shirt sleeves rolled up and their ties loosened silently watching the game on an elevated flatscreen TV in the lobby of the reception venue while cradling half-warm glasses of Peroni. That’s acceptable in this scenario. Rescheduling your wedding with your best man to fly to Russia… perhaps less so.
Now, the primary order of business: is this a troll? Occasionally a particularly strong piece of performance art makes its way up the ranks in r/relationships, and this could fit the bill. A strong point in favour of it being a troll: surely a football megafan would check the date of the World Cup Final before booking his wedding, even if he didn’t think England had the chance to bring it home. Though there is precedent and there are solutions.
https://twitter.com/bbcpaddy/status/1015590863886569472
However, he has deleted the post after backlash – the sign of a true coward. Either way: good post. Enjoyed reading. I think this comment sums it all up:
You’re going to feel ridiculous when you cancel your wedding and Croatia pump England.
