My knee-jerk reaction to literally anything on the internet now is "staged." For the most part, I'm often right. Somebody has to be the Debbie Downer, and I have no issue playing that role when it comes to everyone getting DUPED on social media.
Having said that, my spidey senses are tingling, and they are telling me that this video of a New York Islanders fan proposing to his girlfriend (we assume) and her ripping his heart directly out of his chest in front of 17,000 people appears to be ... gulp ... real?
I don't know. I can't even tell anymore. You be the judge:
Again, no idea, which is the problem with all of these possibly staged/possibly real videos. You have to assume nothing is genuine anymore, which, in my opinion, is sort of sad for our society. For the sake of arguing, let's make a case for fake or real.
IT'S FAKE
The case for FAKE is that staged fake proposals or squabbles between a boyfriend and girlfriend are becoming all-too common in professional sports arenas. It's a way for teams to create content for the jumbotron, and content that often spreads like wildfire for the gullible crowd on social media, so it's doubly productive. The fact this was on the jumbotron, the camera guy was right there ready to capture the moment on the actual broadcast, and all the attention in the arena was on it, might also indicate this is a well-orchestrated skit. Sure, real proposals have been captured on the jumbotron, too, but "saying yes" doesn't drum up the interest that rejection does. The fact he went shirtless adds to the pain as well, making this scene that much sadder and that much more ripe for the masses to share it on social. Also, when the main account leans into it, you should absolutely question the realness:
Yep. Fake.
IT'S REAL
If it is fake, these two should be nominated for Oscars for Best Actor and Actress, because those were a pair of unbelievable performances. He obviously has an actual ring with him, and there's reason to believe he planned it all out -- taking off his shirt to reveal the "please say YES, YES, YES!" message (the Isles goal chant) on his chest, the jumbotron, etc. -- as part of a real proposal he thought would go his way. Her initial hands-over-her-face shock, followed by her coming in close to break his heart, then PEACING out does seem like a genuine reaction of someone who is not prepared to spend the rest of their life with someone, particularly a someone who takes off his shirt and proposes at a hockey game. In other over-the-top staged fake proposals, the girl usuaully makes a huge scene to really drive the point home that she rejected the guy. In this case, it's unclear if she actually said yes or no, or maybe, or "we'll talk about this in the car," which makes me lean heavily towards real. Lastly, him sitting down and drinking that sad beer is pain personified. If it was fake he might chase after her dramatically or overdo the emotion. But sadly sitting down in defeat, reconsidering everything and sipping your half-drank beer while everyone mocks you? As real as it gets.
FINAL VERDICT
The fact we don't know what she actually said makes me say it's 100 percent real. In a true fake proposal, we would know for certain that she said no by some sort of over-dramatic reaction. Being left with more questions than answers makes it real in our book. The cherry on top is that the Florida Panthers scored merely seconds after this moment and went on to defeat the Isles in their home-opener. What a TOUGH scene all around.
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