I Didn't Realize How Easy Boycotting Anheuser-Busch Was Until Last Night

It finally happened. It took three weeks, but I joined the Bud Light/Anheuser-Busch protest last night and didn't even mean to.

Well, I shouldn't say that. I meant to in the moment, but I didn't start the night actively seeking vengeance.

In all honesty, I was just looking for an hour to kill to bridge the gap between dinner time and bed time for my toddler and we needed to get out of the house.

Yep -- I can hear the collective "amens" from all the parents out there, past and present. We've all been there. There is no longer hour in the day than the one between dinner and bed time for a kid.

Anyway, we went down town as we usually do on a Friday night to the same Downtown Friday market they have every single week. The booths usually do nothing for me, so I'm there for the same reason as all the other guys in the crowd: the cheap beer they sell that you can freely walk around with.

It's the simple things in life for me, and guys are simple humans. Give us a reason to walk around with a beer and it's usually game over.

So that's what I did -- went downtown, snuck away while my wife and kid looked at the local jams, and made a beeline to the beer cart. Same one I've been to for years now.

They have two beers: Mic Ultra and Yuengling.

And for the first time, I ordered a Yuengling.

This Bud Light/Anheuser-Busch protest is easier than most

No, it ain't exactly groundbreaking news here. We're not breaking Watergate today.

But I'm a Busch Light guy -- if you've read anything from me over the past year I've worked at OutKick, you know that. At this point I make it a concerted effort to work Busch Light into damn near every article.

And yes, that relationship has been fractured during this mess, too.

For some reason, most places don't serve Busch Light. Even here in the great, big, beautiful, free state of Florida! Crazy, I know, but that's a rant for another day.

So, my next man up has always been Mic Ultra. Not as good, but it's in the same ballpark.

And I started to order it again last night, but stopped myself. Didn't even mean to. I reckon I've just written so much about Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch over the past few weeks that it was almost reflexive.

But I stopped myself mid-order as I saw the green Yuengling bottle in the background and realized ... it's too easy. This is too easy NOT to do.

And then I realized, hell, maybe this whole Bud Light protest actually does have some legs? I've never really believed in the whole protesting thing. Just being honest.

People have said for years they're protesting the NFL over the kneeling stuff and guess what? Ratings ain't exactly tanking over at Roger Goodell's house.

But this one was easy. The Yuengling was right there. Same price. Just had to ask for it. Would've done the same for a Miller Lite, by the way -- and I guess I'm not alone.

The early returns are out, and the polls so far don't favor Bud Light. Sales over the past two weeks have plummeted across the board, while everything over at Coors and Miller are in the green.

True story -- I wrote about it here.

Just last week, one beer insider (what a title!) told the New York Post this brewing Bud Light protest could "have some legs." And then a report came out that Bud Light sales in Wyoming have fallen off a cliff. And then a restaurant chain in Florida banned it at all locations!

On top of all that, reports now indicate that Bud Light has cut ties with the brilliant mind who decided all this Dylan Mulvaney stuff was a good idea in the first place.

But even after all of that, I was still skeptical. I mean, it's still beer, and people like beer. I love beer. Great invention. Maybe my favorite of all time? If not, it's up there. I guess electricity was a good one, too.

The difference, however, is that Bud Light ain't the only girl at the dance. Never is. Never was. And once I briefly took my beer goggles off at that beer cart last night, I finally saw it.

It was just too easy to order a Yuengling.

Maybe this boycott is tailor-made for parents like me just trying to bridge the gap between dinner and bed time.

If so, buckle up, Anheuser-Busch.