Scarves up: A pre-match proposal
Author's Note: This is an original piece from Massive Report.
I believe this story is a very beautiful one and too good to pass up.
Match day for Columbus Crew SC is an exciting time for fans. But for Ryan Harris and Lauren Comer, last Saturday’s match was a particularly special occasion.
The Dayton area natives began dating three years ago while they were attending Wright State University. Both Harris and Comer ran cross country and track and share different interests.
Both have a common interest in collecting scarves. Ryan’s collection consists mainly of soccer scarves, while Lauren prefers to represent her favorite teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Penguins. The couple now has amassed a collection of over 25 different scarves representing the teams they love and cherish. Columbus Crew SC holds a particularly special place in their hearts.
Ryan has attended Crew SC matches for as long as he can remember and Lauren has been attending for the last four years.
Since the two shared so many memories at MAPFRE Stadium, Ryan decided he wanted to make another memory there as well. Ryan had previously spent time working with the Akron Zips in their marketing department. Often he was engaged in projects that involved the soccer team and had established connections with Ruffneck Scarves.
He decided that he was going to propose to Lauren but he wanted to do it in a unique manner. Since the two share a love for collecting scarves, it only made sense for him to explore that avenue.
Ruffneck allows customers to submit custom designs. Ryan got to work and submitted a custom Crew SC-themed scarf to Ruffneck and then began the process of planning out the proposal. Although he was “fairly confident in her [Lauren’s] answer,” he still wanted to make the experience memorable.
Harris reached out to Crew legend Frankie Hejduk for assistance. Frankie was happy to assist, and the two exchanged messages to plan out the event.
Ryan and Lauren arrived at the stadium just like any other match day with their usual collection of five people as they settled into the VIP lot. The group set up shop and began pregame festivities. Ryan then encouraged Lauren to get involved in a game of cornhole against friends.
What happened next would change both of their lives forever.
While Lauren was involved in an intense game, Ryan began to organize the group of 25 that he invited to partake in this special moment. It consisted of immediate family and friends and he passed out the custom made scarves to the onlookers.
Ryan commissioned one of Lauren’s friends to go retrieve her from the cornhole game. When she didn’t immediately return, Ryan’s father cracked a joke to lighten the mood. Hejduk then seized the moment, asking Ryan if he wanted him to retrieve Lauren. Hejduk made his way down to the cornhole game and told Lauren, “Let’s go take a picture.”
Lauren was star-struck at the sight of Hejduk and quickly obliged to the request as they made their way back to their tailgate. As she ran to Ryan she saw a group of people near their space.
“I ran towards this huge group and didn’t even process the fact it was people I knew,” she said. “I saw the scarves that said, “Will you marry me?” and I was like, ‘Wait that’s me!’”
She happily said yes.
The couple got a lot of attention on social media as many praised the proposal and the execution.