Randy and I met during his freshman orientation at East Carolina University. Randy and his roommate ended up joining the cheerleading squad and we became good friends. After a year of knowing each other, we began dating.
We had been dating almost three years when we began seriously talking about getting married, but Randy had me under the impression that it would be awhile before he could afford a ring. Little did I know, he had plans to surprise me the day before my birthday with a proposal.
Throughout our relationship, staying in shape and remaining athletic have been very important to both of us. One way we like to stay in shape is to run together. One Sunday, after church, Randy asked if I wanted to go for a run. I was so hungry at the time that I really didn’t want to run until after lunch. But, somehow, he convinced me that we needed to go before lunch. The route that we ran that day was the same one that we always ran with cheerleading, which goes around the baseball and football stadiums of ECU. Randy’s roommate, TW, also went along for the run. As soon as we began running, TW took off ahead of us, which wasn’t out of the ordinary because he is a fast runner. I lost sight of him about a 1/2 mile into the run. When Randy and I got to the football stadium’s parking lot, he turned in, which made me angry, because it cut our run short. But, it was 95 degrees outside, and I decided it probably wasn’t a bad idea to shorten our run.
Then, as we got to the actual stadium entrance, he turned in, which really confused me. I knew we weren’t allowed in the stadium without prior permission. Even though I was angry and confused, I reluctantly followed. When we got to the football field, he walked out into the end zone. Now, by this point, I was very confused and really getting angry. I yelled at him to get off the field. But, he didn’t move, he just kept saying, "Trust me and come out here with me." So, I thought, "If I do what he wants, maybe he will get off the field." When I got into the endzone, he said, "Race me to the fifty-yard line." I thought, "Whatever it takes to get him off this field," and we took off. When we were almost there, I noticed some stuff in the middle of the field and slowed down. As I got closer, I realized it was two pictures of Randy and I with a rose in the middle. My first thought was that he was doing something special for my birthday, which was the next day.
But, then I saw the ring around the rose stem and I immediately fell to my knees in disbelief and started crying. Randy got down on his knee and said, "Brianne, you are my best friend, and I love you more than anything. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Of course, I said, "YES," and gave him a huge hug and kiss. Then he pulled the ring off the rose stem and put it on my finger. I finally gained my composure and we started walking off the field. As we headed toward the end zone, I saw TW coming onto the field with a video camera. That is when I realized that he had run ahead of us to get everything set up and videotape all of it.
We ran that route so many times and cheered so many games together on that field that it was the perfect place for Randy to propose. We were so hot and sweaty because of the 95 degree heat, but it couldn’t have been more creative or perfect. He definetely caught me off guard and did it when I would least expect it. Now, every football game we go to, we will always have the fifty-yard line memory to look back on. We will be getting married next June in Greenville, NC, the home of ECU.
Proposal Story By:
Brianne Clark
Greenville, NC
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