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The Philadelphia 76ers will have to wait until June to see if they can secure their goal of adding a championship ring. However, for this Sixers fan and Dance Team captain, the time to add a ring could not be delayed. Jackie Murtha received the surprise of her life during a timeout of the Sixers’ recent victory over the Clippers in which her boyfriend and now future husband, Chris Girard, stepped out of an inflatable costume to get down on one knee and pop the inevitable question.
The event went viral over social media with plenty of people poking fun at the newly engaged couple. Girard, a great sport about it, was quick to fan the flames and agree with some of the online trolls that his fiance is out of his league. He tweeted that “Pete Davidson walked so I could run” as well as comments such as “Thank God I’m Funny,” as a variety of national outlets such as ESPN and TMZ ran with the clip.
New Couples’ Comments
While public proposals are about as controversial as the hottest of sports takes, this one was clearly well thought out. Girard said he spent months planning the event which included bringing in about 40 members of their combined family to be in the crowd.
The couple had been dating for about eight years and the now-fiance did not see this proposal coming. As Murtha put it, “I genuinely wasn’t expecting anything at all. He really did a good job of keeping it secret, so when I was out there on the court, it was just a regular promo. I was just doing my job,” per Nick Valdala of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
She also had some fun with the comments that she is out of her long-time boyfriend’s league. As she put it, “It’s not like we never heard that before. I’ve always said I don’t get it. And truly, I don’t. I don’t see it. But we’ve gotten that joke for almost the past eight years of our relationship, so it wasn’t surprising.” It was Girard’s grandmother and mom who took the most offense to the jokes on social media.
Couple’s Happiness Most Important
Despite the online criticisms of the couple and the means of proposing, it is clear both parties are happy. “When they ripped the wrapping paper off the sign … I thought it was for somebody else,” the Sixers dancer told Nick Vadala of The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Obviously, from all the pictures and videos, I was crying like a baby. I was just so happy.”
The Sixers also seemed uplifted as they put forth an impressive second-half comeback over the Clippers following this announcement. This was their seventh win out of an eight-game winning streak before it was put to a halt in a disappointing loss to the Washington Wizards. The Sixers have a difficult matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans and some tough games in the future as well. It may be overly superstitious, but they surely would not mind if a few more fans end up popping the question to bring good luck once again.
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