Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Football Notebook: Conspiracies Are Possible
October 07, 2018 08:24 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Reese Donahue proved Saturday afternoon that conspiracies can be pulled off.
Following West Virginia's 38-22 homecoming victory over Kansas, Donahue and his cast of conspirators that included teammates, friends, family members, a West Virginia state policeman, photographers and camera personnel, escorted Sarah Moore, his unsuspecting girlfriend of three years, out onto the Milan Puskar Stadium turf for a marriage proposal.
According to Donahue, this is something that has been in the making for the last six months.
"It's been on on-going process and it was getting down to crunch time and I was getting nervous," he admitted afterward. "But (the game) helped me through it. Once I got here for practice on Friday and we got into the hotel last night it was like our normal routine. Nothing was different. But when two minutes were left on the clock it got real."
That's when Donahue and his plotters began to mobilize. The most difficult part, of course, was keeping it a complete surprise as long as possible.
"That was rough," he admitted. "Her family flew up from Texas as well. They stayed in Pittsburgh last night and drove down and that was hard, too, because I had to make sure they didn't see each other in the stands or whatever."
"All of the guys knew and that was the deal with the coaches and stuff. It's game time. Once we lock in on Friday we've got to win. Win first," he added.
The Mountaineers did, the final result coming a little bit more difficult than expected.
Then, Donahue earned an even bigger victory when Sarah, a former WVU gymnast from Dallas, said yes once he got down on bended knee.
"I'm so excited and happy. I don't think she had a clue - I hope not," he said.
Donahue said his choice of proposing publicly following West Virginia's homecoming football game against Kansas was a way to honor his future wife as well as recognizing his Christian faith.
"She deserve the world and I also felt like it can make a statement," he said. "One big thing I included in the ring box was Ephesians 5:25 - husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church he gave his life up for. That's big to me. Bible study, our state troopers (who travel with the team) are good with that. They help us and to me it's for her and for others to see because I want to mentor others."
For the rest of us, other than winning the game, the fine details of Saturday's victory over Kansas will soon be lost to history.
For the Donahues, it will be a memory that will last a lifetime.
Furthermore, it's proof that conspiracies are possible.
Following West Virginia's 38-22 homecoming victory over Kansas, Donahue and his cast of conspirators that included teammates, friends, family members, a West Virginia state policeman, photographers and camera personnel, escorted Sarah Moore, his unsuspecting girlfriend of three years, out onto the Milan Puskar Stadium turf for a marriage proposal.
According to Donahue, this is something that has been in the making for the last six months.
"It's been on on-going process and it was getting down to crunch time and I was getting nervous," he admitted afterward. "But (the game) helped me through it. Once I got here for practice on Friday and we got into the hotel last night it was like our normal routine. Nothing was different. But when two minutes were left on the clock it got real."
That's when Donahue and his plotters began to mobilize. The most difficult part, of course, was keeping it a complete surprise as long as possible.
"That was rough," he admitted. "Her family flew up from Texas as well. They stayed in Pittsburgh last night and drove down and that was hard, too, because I had to make sure they didn't see each other in the stands or whatever."
"All of the guys knew and that was the deal with the coaches and stuff. It's game time. Once we lock in on Friday we've got to win. Win first," he added.
The Mountaineers did, the final result coming a little bit more difficult than expected.
Then, Donahue earned an even bigger victory when Sarah, a former WVU gymnast from Dallas, said yes once he got down on bended knee.
"I'm so excited and happy. I don't think she had a clue - I hope not," he said.
Donahue said his choice of proposing publicly following West Virginia's homecoming football game against Kansas was a way to honor his future wife as well as recognizing his Christian faith.
"She deserve the world and I also felt like it can make a statement," he said. "One big thing I included in the ring box was Ephesians 5:25 - husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church he gave his life up for. That's big to me. Bible study, our state troopers (who travel with the team) are good with that. They help us and to me it's for her and for others to see because I want to mentor others."
For the rest of us, other than winning the game, the fine details of Saturday's victory over Kansas will soon be lost to history.
For the Donahues, it will be a memory that will last a lifetime.
Furthermore, it's proof that conspiracies are possible.
She said YES! ??
— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) October 6, 2018
Congratulations to Reese and Sarah! pic.twitter.com/9UtxdBcJN9
Here's one way a great day can get even better — she said yes! ??
— ESPN (@espn) October 7, 2018
(??@DoveMenCare) pic.twitter.com/xwH2Dw5NeC
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