» christenBphotography™ blog || pasadena, ca || photographer

There is something about a Superbowl game that creates the perfect atmosphere for falling in love. seriously. Don’t believe me? Ask my newly married friend Amy where she met her husband last year….! Falling in love is what happens when you aren’t too focused in on the bad calls, sweet passes, and unexpected interceptions (I’m so sorry Manning!).

Yesterday, I found myself reflecting on the SuperBowl of 2003. I can’t tell you who was playing or who won… but I can tell you who I was sitting next to on the floor of Gilmore Hall @ Hope College. That’s right… Tony. We had shared several significant conversations up to that point and seemed to end up in the same place at the same time… but I was not interested. I remember exactly where we were sitting and I remember being nervously aware of who was sitting to my left. And when I asked the entire room of people, “Who wants to go see Two Towers with me since I haven’t seen it?!” It was the guy sitting next to me who said: “I will.” (He had already seen it once) I remember thinking how unexpected it all was… this cute guy (who I wasn’t interested in) volunteering to go see Two Towers with me. I think it was a week or two later when Tony picked me up with a stash of Swedish Fish and Laffy Taffy from The Peanut Store in downtown Holland. He was driving an old Buick and I remember being so grateful for the heated seats because it was February… therefore, snowy and freezing.

We got to the movies just in time… and I had told my friends “this is NOT a date. We are JUST friends.” But, there was that awkward moment where I wasn’t sure who was paying, I only knew that the only way I could save face with my friends when I returned home was if I paid my own way. (Which I did) As we slid into our seats into a fairly empty theater, I had to smile when I thought how unexpected this non-date was… We didn’t have much time for small talk before the movie started so our primary interactions revolved around me making comments under my breath and laughing about the talking trees (sorry, don’t know the LOTR lingo still!) and other outlandish things… But overall, I liked it. He drove me home safely through the snowy roads lit up by the street lamps… and as he pulled up to Gilmore Hall, there was an awkward moment when I didn’t know how to say goodbye to this guy who had taken me on a non-date. Because I am naturally a ‘hugger,’ I leaned across the arm rest and gave him a half hug (SO AWKWARD!) and quickly slipped out of the car with a smile and think I saw a twinkle in his eye just before he drove away.  Before going to sleep that night, I received a message via Instant Message (so old school, huh?) that said: “I had a great time with you tonight. I just wish we had had more time to talk.”

A week later, I found two CD’s on my desk with a really sweet note that I still have to this day… and then we went out to coffee… (just as friends) and I would say somewhere between Special Ed Ministries every Thursday night and driving to Elkhart, Indiana while being so lost in conversation that I missed my exit… I started to fall for this guy. I could write a really long post about the progression of our relationship from strangers to acquaintances to awkward friends to good awkward friends… to friends who like each other but are still awkward… and finally, boyfriend and girlfriend… but then I am getting off the topic of the Superbowl. Oh, the Superbowl? Right… You never know when you are going to end up sitting next to your future spouse at a SuperBowl party… so even if you aren’t a big fan or don’t care who wins… give it a chance. You may end up winning after all. Just fyi, Tony and I re-enacted our 2003 interaction at yesterday’s SuperBowl party… I have to admit: he was way more forward and I was definitely more flirty!

Here is a couple pictures of Amy and Luke (who got married on December 19, 2009 met at our friend’s SuperBowl party in 2009) from their engagement session this past fall.