Vegas Nights

You know that nasty little voice in your head? The one which tells you it's ok to do bad things like have an extra drink at lunchtime, or flirt with your mate's wife? Well, I have to confess the voice reappeared again on Thursday night, with about ten minutes left to play. It said, "..go on 'Boro score a goal..." However, I trust you will forgive me when you hear about my situation.

You see, being based in New York (as opposed to New Cross or New Malden) is not easy when your team has a chance of reaching its first semi-final since 1947. I already knew that I had a big dilemma on my hands if we made the semis - some UK-based mates (Spurs fans sadly) had been planning a Las Vegas trip, and I promised I would make the relatively short hop over from NY where no doubt I would again hear that voice in my head throughout the trip.

After weeks of procrastination, the Spurs mates finally booked their flights and of course, they chose the FA Cup semi-final weekend. Naturally they hadn't bothered to check the fixture list having been unceremoniously knocked out of the Cup by Leicester in Round 3 (to jog your memory they were 2-0 up).

It's ok I thought, no problem, the semi-final takes place over a month after the quarter-final, so there will be plenty of time to mull over my options, and assess ways in which I can appease both my mates and my own Charlton passions. It would require spending several hours on a plane and ensure copious amounts of jet lag, but it could be done with sufficient notice. The key word here is of course notice, and what I hadn't factored in of course was that the quarter-final replay would take place just ten days before the semi-final.

It's ok I thought, no problem, if we are drawn to play Chelsea or Liverpool then I probably won't bother to fly home because a) we are likely to lose, and b) in the unlikely event that we win, I'll have a final to go to. I like to deal in probabilities, and this offered me a 66.6% chance of having my problems solved. Alas probabilities have a nasty way of biting you on the backside as any gambler will know.

It's ok I thought, no problem, even though we have drawn West Ham thus turning a potential semi-final into a 'UEFA Cup' qualification tie, Virgin Atlantic (with whom I have all my frequent flyer miles) have a daily flight from Vegas to London. Moreover, the fact that the semi will be played on a Sunday gives me an extra day to spend with my mates in Vegas, before heading back for the game. So I went onto the Virgin website with the intention of buying a fully refundable ticket back to London on the Saturday night. And then I saw the notice writ large across my screen, please note, there are no scheduled flights on a Saturday. Yes that's correct, Virgin have a flight from Monday to Friday, and on Sundays, but not on Saturdays.

It's ok I thought, no problem, even though there is no Virgin flight direct from Vegas, Birmingham City's sponsors FlyBe have a direct 1930 flight from New York to Birmingham so if I can just get back to New York in time for that connection then I'm on my way. Unfortunately however, Las Vegas is three hours behind New York and a five hour flight away, add in the 2-3 hour check-in requirement at New York, and it is near impossible to make a connection on a same-day flight.

So frankly I'm at a loss for what to do. The most sensible tactic would probably be to buy a fully refundable ticket back from Vegas on the Friday night, and then if we lose to 'Boro just cancel it and extend my stay. If we beat 'Boro then I have to hope my mates forgive the early end to my Vegas trip. However that presents a new and terrifying dilemma - by my estimations we have an approximately 35% chance of beating 'Boro. Hence if a non-refundable ticket costs less than 35% of a refundable ticket, then I'd be acting rationally by purchasing a non-refundable ticket and potentially letting it go to waste. As any business travel planner knows, fully refundable tickets are extortionate and the price of the non-refundable alternative is priced well below 35%. But this would be the greatest example of fate temptation since Steve Ovett waved at the crowd before being pipped at the finishing line, and I would expect to be blamed by every Charlton fan who reads this blog should we fail to get through.

So the next time you hear that nasty voice in your head, remember "it's ok to act this way."