An Orlando Magic fan at the team’s home game Monday night against the Miami Heat thought she had won the lottery when she was picked from thousands of fans to try to sink a halftime shot for $20,000.
The fan, Elena, missed the shot but got a possible lifetime of happiness instead when her boyfriend, Eric, surprised her with a marriage proposal.
“It was just complete shock,” Elena, who asked that her last name not be used, said today on “Good Morning America.”
“It was probably the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life, so far,” she said.
So far, Elena notes, because she said “yes” to the proposal and who knows what her now-fiance, Eric, will do next.
Eric, also asking that his last name not be used, said the idea to surprise his girlfriend came to him at two in the morning.
“We have such a happy, joking relationship. I said, ‘What can I do to prank her?,’” he explained on “GMA.”
Inspired, he sent an email to his contacts at the Orlando Magic and their home arena, the Amway Center, and they were game, too.
“They came back to me and were like, ‘Yes, we’d love to do it. We’ll get everybody involved,’” he said. “I just had so many people supporting me at the Magic organization.”
Elena looked like she needed some support as she, wearing a dress and obviously not prepared to shoot for $20,000, took to the court. Before she could be too disappointed with her miss, however, she was met by Eric mid-court, flanked by the Orlando Magic mascot, “Stuff,” holding a sign telling fans this was not a contest, but a marriage proposal.
Elena realized what was happening not because of the sign, but when she saw Eric on one knee, and then with the ring.
“Everything just came together so easily,” Eric said. “All I had to do was bring her to the game and show up.”
