One year on from the Twitter bet which won John Goehrke a date with Eugenie Bouchard, love’s young dream are back to where it all began.
Let’s recap on this digital fairytale romance, shall we?
This time last year, at Super Bowl LI, the bravest young American keyboard warrior was sitting at home watching the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons.
Genie, who got her sporting credentials playing professional tennis, put good money – and her love – on the line in a bet with John, after predicting Atlanta would win.
This is the tweet with which is all began:
So when Tom Brady scored the last-minute touchdown which bought it home for the Patriots, at a 34-28 win, it wasn’t just New England who had cause to celebrate the big comeback.
Mere days later, Eugenie and John went on their date.
Undoubtedly praising Brady for all he’s worth, then 20-year-old John travelled to New York to enjoy a basketball game with the Canadian athlete.
Eugenie seemed to enjoy the date with John, a student from Missouri. At the time, Bouchard said the date was ‘awesome’, dubbing John ‘normal’.
She said:
I planned the date. He picked me up at my hotel like a gentleman, then we came over here. He brought me a nice little gift and he enjoyed the game courtside.
I’m lucky he’s normal. For sure [there will be a second date].
Fast forward a year, and the pair rocked up to the 2018 Super Bowl LII where the Philadelphia Eagles claimed their first ever win on an historic night in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
But it was not a night of firsts for everyone.
Genie shared selfies from her most recent date with John:
Milking the potential publicity stunt for all it’s worth, the pair posed for pictures with NFL organisations, remarking on ‘what a difference a year makes’ and sharing the hashtag ‘not done’.
The pair also took control of the NFL Canada Twitter account for a Q&A session with the public using #SuperBowlDate.
They answered the question on everyone’s lips:
Everyone who cares about these things wanted to know one thing – what’s the deal? Are Genie and John an item, or not?
Well… no, in a nut shell.
It would seem as if the relationship is purely friendly as it has been reported that Genie has been dating ice hockey player Jordan Caron.
Even though the pair aren’t in a romantic relationship, it just goes to show Twitter can orchestrate some pretty cool friendships out of pretty average patter.
So, it seems, amid all the political pissing contests and Pepe frog memes, there is some good in the online world, after all.
Even if your handle is @punslayintwoods:
Meanwhile, trailing at 41-33 with just 65 seconds remaining the challenge was set for Brady, the man who sparked a millennial friendship, who needed to march the Pats downfield for a late touchdown and it needed a two-point conversion.
It proved a task too far for the only man you would turn to in such a spot, and the game would finish with the eight point deficit intact.
At least Genie and John had fun.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.