kick me again...

I got kicked in a movie theater.

Nancy, Mike, and I went to see Firewall (which I rate a C+). We walked into the theater a few minutes before the lights were to dim and the previews begin. We made our way toward the front, looking for 3 open seats. In the 4th and 5th rows I saw lots of open seats, and I headed that direction, leading my friends with me. I tip-toed over a couple girls and sat down. Maybe 15 seconds later I hear a guy from another row telling my roommate that our seats were saved for some other people. "What?" I asked, leaning back to that guy's row. I confirmed that he had said that, and then replied, "All these seats? I think the official policy is that you can only save one other seat besides the one you will be sitting in." Then the guy got angry and growled, "Oh yeah?! Why don't you go ask them yourself?"
me: "Because I'm not confused, and I am fine sitting right here."
guy: "You can't just take other people's seats! You guys are *******!"
me: "Uh, ok. Well if you saved them, then how 'come we're sitting in them?"

Then as the previews were beginning another guy snuck up behind me and said
guy 2: He I'm not trying to be a ********, but I got here 45 minutes early so that I could save 13 seats for my friends, and they will be here soon and so could you please just move."
me: "Look, this isn't a ward activity; it's a public movie theater. You can save one seat for another person. ...Where would you even want us to sit?"
(he pointed to the front corner of the theater)
me: "No, we're not going over there, those seats are terrible. We got here, we sat down, and then people started telling us that these seats are saved. Well sorry, they weren't saved. "

I then turned around to sit back and watch the screen. I few seconds later I felt my seat launch me forward, it took me a split second to realize why--guy 2 had just kicked my seatback with his legs with all the angry frustration he could muster. Lucky for me the seats are well padded. Unlucky for him Nancy was now provoked and unleasing her verbally fury. I turned to look and saw that his legs were stretched out fully between his seat and the top of my seatback. Guy 3 from behind guy 2 stood up and said, "(to guy 2) Get your feet down right now! Get 'em down, now!" He reluctantly removed his feet from my seatback. Then other people started "poaching" his seat reserves. Insults were hurled. The seat poachers said, "Tell your **** friends to get here on time." or "There's no ***** saving seats."

I'm not saying that trying to save one or two seats is terrible, but you should do it with a coat, with a adhesive tape, or with a theater usher. If your friends show up late, don't get all crazy about it: especially not when you're trying to save two entire center rows through the previews.

After the movie, my 6'2'' 260 lbs roommate said that he was hoping they'd kick our seats again so he could "lay the smack down."

british version

This also reminds me of the Kevin Bagoyo set of events.