Booze Cruise

Booze Cruise is my favorite episode of the Office. It’s the episode where everything “clicked” for me. The tension between Jim and Pam. The goofy but caring nature of Michael Scott. The intricacy of relationships between the rest of the cast. Booze Cruise is a high mark for the series. 

It should come as no surprise what my favorite scene is. The conversation between Jim and Michael at the end of the episode where Jim confides in his boss. Pam had just been ‘proposed’ to and, out of the overflow of his emotions about this moment, Jim breaks up with Amy Adams (I can’t remember her in character name). At the front of the boat, Michael and Jim have a conversation where Jim admits his feelings for Pam. 

This would obviously come back to haunt him a few episodes later, but this moment for me sums up Michael and Jim’s relationship throughout the rest of the show. It goes a little like this:

Jim: What a night.

Michael: Well, it’s nice for you. Your friend got engaged.

Jim: She was always engaged.

Michael: Roy said the first one didn’t count.

Jim: That’s… great. You know, to tell the truth, I used to have a big thing for Pam, so… 

Michael: Really? You’re kidding me. You and Pam? Wow. I would never have put you two together. You really hid it well. God! I usually have a radar for stuff like that. You know, I made out with Jan… 

Jim: Yeah, I know.

Michael: Yeah? Yep. Well, Pam is cute.

Jim: Yeah. She’s really funny, and she’s warm. And she’s just… well, anyway.

Michael: Well, if you like her so much, don’t give up.

Jim: She’s engaged.

Michael: BFD. Engaged ain’t married.

Jim: Huh.

Michael: Never, ever, ever give up.

A few seconds later

Dwight (behind a wheel at the front of the ship): Don’t worry, Michael. I’m taking us to shore.

Michael: It’s a fake wheel, dummy.

I love this scene because it actually foreshadows three different relationships between six different characters. Here’s a look at what I mean:

It obviously foreshadows Jim and Pam’s relationship. It would take a trip to Stamford, Karen Filippelli, and a called off wedding to finally bring those two together. If you’ll remember, they actually end up getting married on a boat. It wasn’t easy. But they figure it out because they don’t give up. And, in some ways, future seasons of this show are a celebration of that. Brian and that terrible arc aside, we get to watch the result of ‘never, ever, ever giving up” for years to come. 

This scene also foreshadows the future relationship of Michael and Holly. Michael ends up having to take his own advice when Holly is transferred and finds a new relationship. He has doubts. These doubts lead him to quit the company he loves and start Michael Scott Paper Company (which is my favorite arc of the show for what it’s worth). But in the end, he never gives up. And eventually him and Holly are together. It maybe doesn’t look the way many us would have hoped it would. They get together and then Michael Scott is off the show. In some ways, this directly leads to Boss Andy, who is the worst. But that doesn’t matter. Because, even though many a ream of paper is sold after Michael leaves, we get to fondly remember how he “never, ever, ever gave up” on his dream of family. 

The last relationship this scene foreshadows is one I didn’t catch until my latest re-watch. Dwight and Angela. While Dwight isn’t a part of this conversation, the same way he’s not a part of many relational moments in the early seasons, his presence brings to mind what a rollercoaster him and Angela are throughout the series. While Jim and Pam are obviously the couple most people think about when they think about the Office, I might argue it’s really Dwight and Angela who anchor the series. Through dead cats, Nard Dogs, and gay senators, Angela and Dwight can’t quite figure it out until the very end of the series. Dwight, maybe more so than anyone else in the office, really has to live out the advice Michael gives Jim that fateful night on the cruise. And, in the end, everyone in the office gets to watch as Dwight and Angela commit to “never, ever, ever giving up” on each other ever again.

The advice that Michael gives to Jim in Booze Cruise radiates throughout the rest of the series in incredible ways. Those five words end up becoming a mantra for several characters on the show. 

And friends, I think this same advice is a good mantra for us too. Fantasy Football, and life, is full of ‘I want to give up” moments. 

Maybe your starting line-up is so hurt it doesn’t feel like it’s worth it to even try? Or maybe the opponent you’re playing is so dominant and scary (me) that you feel the L coming already so it’s all futile. Maybe your record is so bad you don’t think there’s anything to play for. In those moments I might remind you of the words of Michael Scott:

BFD. Engaged ain’t married.  

Just because you’re losing doesn’t mean you’ve lost. Just because your players are hurt doesn’t mean you can’t figure it out. Just because it looks like the punishment is heading your way doesn’t mean that’s the reality you have to accept (unless things break the wrong way for Adam this week…). This might be a Jim and Pam situation. You might just need to hang on a little while longer. 

Maybe things at your job feel impossible right now. Maybe you don’t feel valued, you hate coming to work, and a barista of yours just got caught partaking in an illegal substance and watching Netflix on company hardware (to use a very general example). Maybe you want to quit. And maybe that’d be appropriate. Or, maybe this is a Michael and Holly situation? Maybe you have to continue standing for what you know is right for you, your family, and whatever vision you have for your work life. And maybe it won’t make sense for a while? But what if one day it does? You won’t know if you give up now? 

Maybe you feel like it’s time to give up on a personal dream? It’s harder than you thought it would be. You’re not getting the traction you thought you would. Shouldn’t you be farther ahead than you are now? It took Dwight and Angela nine freaking years to finally figure it out. Give yourself a little grace and don’t give up on whatever is inside of you. 

If you’re at a ‘giving up point’ right now that probably means you’re on the precipice of something great. To give up right now would be to forfeit that. To give up now would be to cut bait, move to Stamford, and marry Karen. And Karen is fine, but she’s not Amy Adams. She’s not Pam. She’s not even Angela. Wherever you are, in Fantasy Football or in life, remember the words of the World’s Greatest Boss:

“Never, ever, ever give up.” 

And keep going. (Unless you meet me in the Playoffs… if that’s the case please, please, please give up…)