Sports Love Stories Destined For The Hallmark Channel
The meet-cutes that led to love. Cue the snowfall.
Photo credit: Instagram.com/instyle and instagram.com/julieertz, BigStock
Holiday love stories are bringing home the bacon for the Hallmark Channel and Netflix this holiday season, so it’s only a matter of time before ESPN jumps on board.
You heard it here first,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Timing is everything. A few divorces and a handful of years couldn’t keep these two star-crossed lovers apart. Jennifer Lopez and former MLB (Major League Baseball) player and broadcaster Alex Rodriguez had been friends for years. They dated, married and divorced other people and then they were both single. Then there was the text that changed everything. ARod was nervous during a dinner together so he excused himself and went to the bathroom to readjust his thoughts. Then and there he sent his dinner date JLo a text that said “You look sexy AF” and the rest is history. WHY HAS HALLMARK NOT MADE THIS MOVIE?
2. We’ve all heard it before, a girl falls in love with a bad boy and then the bad boy breaks the girl’s heart. That and one bad pickup line bring us to our next couple. After a very public relationship with golfer Tiger Woods, skier Lindsey Vonn was introduced to NHL (National Hockey League) player P.K. Subban at the ESPYs. It was at that event that he told a reporter "It's hotter outside than Lindsey Vonn looks today, which is pretty hot." Well, the line worked. The two, who started dating in 2018 and were engaged in the summer of 2019. The wedding is on hold thanks to COVID. The couple’s passion for each other and their charitable efforts are something to admire. HEART EMOJI
3. Do you know that plotline where two members of royalty happen to run into each other at a coffee shop? This is the same but different. Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are the unofficial first couple of women’s sports. The two have been dating since meeting at the 2016 Summer Olympics and are a fixture in the Seattle sports scene. They’ve been featured on the cover of InStyle Magazine and were the first same-sex couple to grace the cover of ESPN’s Body Issue. The outspoken and seriously fashionable duo seem to have it all including a plethora of championships and safety deposit boxes for all their gold medals. The two, who were engaged in 2020, also have each other’s backs. During the Women’s World Cup, Bird, who plays for the Seattle Storm (WNBA - Women’s National Basketball Association), came to Rapinoe’s defense in her battle with President Trump, penning an essay titled “So the President F—ing Hates My Girlfriend.” ROM-COM WRITTEN ALL OVER IT
4. The love story that started with an awkward first dance. Tennis greats Steffi Graff and Andre Agassi started dating after the French Open in 1999 but their story goes back years before that. In 1992 both Graff and Agassi (who tried to pick up Graff the year before at the French Open) were winners at Wimbledon. It used to be a tradition for the two winners of Wimbledon to dance with each other at the Wimbledon Champions’ Ball. But as luck would have it, that was the year they decided to cancel the dance due to “lukewarm receptions from modern players.” It all worked out in the end as the two married in 2001 and are still together. FATE WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS
5. Our final story is a modern storyline of a virtual, long-distance relationship. Together Julie and Zach Ertz have a Super Bowl championship, two World Cup victories and what do they have to prove it? A Visa commercial. The Philadelphia Eagles tight end (NFL - National Football League) and the soccer star met at a Stanford baseball game in 2012 when he offered her sunflower seeds. They had their first date at Chipotle and the rest is history. Married since 2017, together they too have bared it all for ESPN’s Body Issue. With both of them being at the pinnacles of their careers, they live the saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” They say they’re lucky to have three months a year in the same city. WHEN FACETIME IS YOUR FRIEND
Truth Be Told
Who’s shaking what their mama gave them, the unsuspected hero of the “Last Dance” and ingenuity at work?
Sports, because everyone wants to talk about anything besides COVID.
Bring it on,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NBA (National Basketball Association)
In last night’s episodes of “Last Dance,” the Michael Jordan documentary on ESPN, we had a chance to see inside Jordan’s relationship with Kobe Bryant. From his trash talking at Bryant’s first all-star game to the big brother and mentor Jordan became to Bryant. After his deadly helicopter crash earlier this year, it was bittersweet for so many fans to watch Bryant’s humble interview when discussing Jordan. WISH YOU WERE HERE
Overtime
Although it seems like the Super Bowl was a year ago, Jennifer Lopez shared behind the scenes footage to celebrate the three-month anniversary of her big halftime performance. Part of the video shows Shakira and JLo practicing their now famous booty-shaking routine. JLo’s word of advice to Shakira? "I do it with my knees, I shake my knees" – a secret she learned from her mama. NOTE TO SELF
Sideline stat
One German soccer fan is getting creative when it comes to using all of the boxes from his Amazon deliveries. With the return of German pro soccer league Bundesliga on the horizon, the fan had an idea to sell cardboard cutouts of a fan’s likeness for $20.60 to help local businesses. It’s a win-win because proceeds will benefit struggling local businesses, the local printer gets the work and the players will have “fans” in the stands when games resume. INGENUITY AT WORK
Coaches’ corner
Last week Baltimore Orioles (MLB - Major League Baseball) player Trey Mancini revealed that he was fighting stage three colon cancer. On a team call his teammates surprised him by holding up signs of support (literally) and pledged to “#F16HT” alongside him. The hashtag incorporates Mancini’s jersey number – 16. Mancini is currently undergoing chemotherapy and wants to see baseball return soon, even though he can’t play, so he can spend time with his teammates. IN IT TO WIN IT
What to watch
The unlikely hero of last night’s “Last Dance” episodes was the security guard at the United Center (home of the Chicago Bulls) who gambled with Michael Jordan in the locker room. With his curly blonde mullet and his victory dance moves, the scene where he takes Jordan’s money over a game of throwing quarters will make you smile. WINNING IS EVERYTHING
Calgon, Take Me Away
Why age + experiences does not equal a bigger bank account, a funeral pirates would be proud of and the J-Rod bday love continues.
Monday, we meet again.
When will you take the hint?
The Last Night’s Game Team
Tour de France/esports
Egan Bernal took home Columbia’s first Tour De France win and the title of the third youngest winner ever at the ripe old age of 22. As the winner, he took home a check for $556,000. Making the 22-year-old not only feel old but underpaid, Kyle 'Bugha' Giersdorf, 16, won the Fortnite World Cup (esports) and $3 million in prize money. BATTLE OF THE BABYFACES
Overtime
If the grim reaper shows up on the sidelines of a Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL – National Football League) game for head coach Bruce Arians, it’s time to break out the bottle. When asked about his heath, the 66-year-old coach said he wasn’t concerned and if he dies on gameday, then fans should have a drink in his honor. CHEERS?
Sideline stat
It has been seven weeks since former baseball player David Ortiz was shot in his home country of the Dominican Republic. This weekend, after three surgeries for injuries sustained when a bullet damaged his stomach, liver and intestines, he was released from the hospital in his adopted hometown of in Boston. MEDICAL MIRACLE
Coaches’ corner
From undrafted to the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) All-Star Game MVP, Erica Wheeler took home the honors in Las Vegas this weekend. She lost her mom to cancer when she was in college, worked her butt off to make a team and now has the distinction of being the best of the best. INSPIRATION FROM ABOVE
What to watch
The Alex Rodriguez-Jennifer Lopez birthday love continues. Alongside his daughters, J-lo presented her fiancée with a birthday cake live on Sunday Night Baseball where he is a broadcaster. BIRTHDAY BOY