The Couple That Plays Together...

It's called "meet cute". A couple comes together in contrived or comedic circumstances that starts with a misunderstanding or conflict, but ends in true love. It's a staple of romantic comedies--boy can't meet girl and live happily ever after, oh no. Boy and girl have to come from totally different worlds, but then some bizarre plot twist comes to their rescue and their worlds collide. Just search under "Meg Ryan" in Wikipedia and you'll soon get the idea.

Most of us aren't so lucky to partner up in a "meet cute". When your kids get old enough to ask, "How did you and Mom meet?", it'd be nice to have a more interesting story than, "Well, she had a friend who knew one of my friends, and they thought we'd get along, so they introduced us and, uh, eight years later here we are". Bor-ring. No, far better to have a story like this: "I was on one of my crime sprees and I decided to rob this bank. I went to the teller window and brandished my sawed-off shotgun, but when I looked up, and saw your mother's big blue eyes staring back without a hint of fear...well, instead of handing her a note saying "EMPTY YOUR CASH DRAWERS!!!" I gave her my phone number. She called me that night, and eight years later, here we are."

See, that's a much more interesting story. And so is the one I'm about to tell, one that doesn't even involve firearms or federal law enforcement agencies. Once upon a time,  Jeff "Cooler King" Pursell was playing an Omaha tournament and found himself heads-up against Colleen "idblondee" Jacobsen. The two decided to chop the prize money, and in that moment of cold, rational calculation the seed of love was planted. I won't take that ghastly gardening metaphor any further, but let's just say that after that initial online meeting Jeff and Colleen's relationship blossomed to the point where, during the welcome party at the Aruba Poker Classic, Jeff put all his chips in the middle and proposed to Colleen...on stage:



And Colleen accepted Jeff's proposal in the same way that all the world's great love stories reached their happy ending--via T-shirt:



And the newly engaged couple then enjoyed a rousing ovation from the crowd and their first dance as soon-to-be husband and wife:



When you stop to think about it, chopping a poker tournament is an excellent way to begin a long, lasting relationship. What are the hallmarks of a happy marriage? The successful couple is one where both partners respect each other. Well, you aren't going to chop a tournament against a player you don't respect. Marriage requires both parties to compromise at times--and what is a chop if not a compromise? Happy couples also share some common interests, and while it's possible two half-hearted poker players might run into each other playing Hold-Em, getting heads-up in an Omaha tournament shows that Jeff and Colleen aren't poker dilettantes. From what it looks like they'll be sharing their love of the game, and of each other, for a long, long time.