Allison (Ally) and Eli met through Juanita, Ally’s best friend and Eli’s cousin. Over the years, we stayed loosely connected, mostly through social media. In September 2023, as fate would have it, Eli needed one more person to fill a spot in his fantasy football league and asked Ally to join. At the time, she had absolutely no interest in football. She didn’t watch it, follow it, or care about it at all. Ironically, that season she finished in second place, surprising everyone (especially herself), and she’s played every year since. Later that month, Eli invited Juanita and Ally to join him for a night out in Dallas to catch up and hang out. What Ally didn’t know was that the next day, Eli asked Juanita if Ally was single, and soon after, he sent Ally a text offering to help her learn football. What began as a fantasy football lesson quickly turned into meaningful conversations, laughter, and an unexpected connection. From that moment on, it was clear that this was more than just a game, it was the beginning of forever.

On a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon in November, Eli proposed at Flippen Park in Dallas, Texas. As “Yellow” by Coldplay played in the background, the world seemed to pause while he got down on one knee and asked her to spend forever with him. In that quiet, perfect moment, time stood still, and she said yes.