“Definitely,” “Of course” and “Yes” are some of the shortest sentences in the English language.
But to a man on bended knee waiting to hear one of them, the moment can last an eternity.
While a marriage proposal is normally thought of as an intimate moment, some people have decided to take the plunge into a life together in front of tens of thousands of people.
Some men decide to pay a small fee on a big chance by having their marriage proposal written on professional arena JumboTrons.
Western doesn’t allow fans to post personalized messages on the Diddle Arena JumboTron.
This Valentine’s Day, Kenneth Zahn Jr. from Murfreesboro, Tenn., will propose to his girlfriend, Jessica Bates, at the Nashville Predators hockey game at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. It will be the couple’s third hockey game together.
“If I am going to propose, I’m going to go all out,” Zahn said. “I had seen it that way before, and I knew I wanted it to be the whole nine yards.”
During a stoppage time in the game, the message will be displayed on the big screen. But Zahn will also be given a microphone to ask over the public announcement system, and a camera crew will record the whole event, he said.
Banking on a yes, Zahn said he has also purchased a pair of white away jerseys with his last name and the number 07 on the back.
Zahn said the hockey games have been a special part of their relationship since they met at church on Oct. 18.
“We normally go with her parents, and it is just a real good family time, and it’s something we just both love doing,” he said.
The cost to get a message posted on the JumboTron is a $50 donation to the Nashville Predator’s foundation, said Predators Community Relations Manager Rebecca Ward.
The messages “I love you” or “Will you marry me?” are displayed several times each season.
“Typically, we just put the message on the screen, but considering the holiday, we were happy to do a little something special,” Ward said.
At the United Center in Chicago, putting a message on the JumboTron is handled in a similar way.
The cost for a message is a $100 donation to the Blackhawk’s charitable foundation, and messages are posted throughout the game, Game Operations Intern Andrew Hernandez said.
So far this season, there have been three marriage proposals and several messages saying “I love you.”
At the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, the cost of a message is $35 per line plus a $3 Internet fee, said Russ Jenisch, director of scoreboard operations.
The message “I love you” or “will you marry me,” which is displayed at the end of the third inning of each home game probably goes up two or three times a game.
“My guess is the people just have some kind of special connection to the game or the Reds, so they want to have their marriage proposals be the same way,” he said.
Reach Andrew McNamara at sports@wkuherald.com.
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