Just because you make your chosen sport look easy doesn’t mean the dating scene is a piece of cake. In honor of the weird and awkward we’ve probably all experienced on Valentine’s Day, six Chicago athletes shared stories of their worst first dates.
“I almost crashed into her garage”
In high school, I think it was sophomore year, I took a girl on an ice cream date. It was going really well, so as it neared the end, I was pretty excited. I pulled into her driveway and was leaning in for the kiss but I had forgotten to put the car in park. So I went in for it and the car started moving and rolling forward and I almost crashed into her garage.
—Joey Calistri, Fire
“She had to pay for everything”
I was a sophomore in high school and I was going to go to dinner and a movie with this girl. We were going to a nice steakhouse. The check comes after dinner and I didn’t have my wallet so she had to pay for everything. It was kind of embarrassing for me. We still went to the movie, though, and saw “In Time” with Justin Timberlake.
—Dikembe Dixson, UIC basketball
“We’ve got to pick it up …”
I went [out to eat] with the girl I’m currently dating. It was a hot summer day, I was excited to eat. I remember ordering a Buffalo chicken sandwich and some fries, and I just maxed out. I hadn’t gone to the bathroom in a little while, and I knew it probably wasn’t a smart choice, but we finished lunch and ended up also grabbing a coffee. I think that’s what started brewing the storm. I remember sitting there and starting to feel some rumblings, and I said, “All right, we’ve got to go.” We were walking back, about three or four blocks, it was hot, and I was sweating and doing some serious, serious core work trying to keep everything in. I eventually just had to tell her, “We’ve got to pick it up, I have to go to the bathroom really bad.” I remember getting back to my apartment just in time. If it had been one second later …
—Eric Gehrig More Top Picks Best Cd Players For Home Stereo
“Got my jacket and left”
I was in the grocery store and I got approached by someone. Extremely attractive, seemed really funny and outgoing. Not creepy on any level. Somehow we had a really good conversation that started with a rotisserie chicken we were both about to grab. We decided to exchange numbers so we could meet up in the near future. We started texting a lot and things were really cool. The next day I saw my best friend and she was telling me about someone she met at a club. And how excited she was about this person because she felt their connection was so strong and that they exchanged numbers and were planning on seeing each other again to start to really hang out. Long story short I went out to dinner with the person I met from the grocery store. Dinner was going great, I was texting my best friend the whole time telling her how excited I was because everything was going really good. Best friend asked me for a picture of us so I sent her one. She responded back immediately and said that was the same person she met at the club and has been texting, so right away I went to the bathroom and called my friend and we discussed a little more. It was definitely the same person. So I went back to the table and showed the picture of my friend. Enough said. Got my jacket and left.
—Jacki Gemelos, Sky
“Just uncomfortable”
My worst first date would probably have to have been a turnabout dance in high school, where the girls would ask the guys to the dance. It was my sophomore year and a girl asked me by putting a cookie cake in my locker with “Turnabout?” written on it. The cookie cake was great, I think I ate the whole thing at lunch that day, but I really didn’t know the girl very well. I had maybe talked to her once before, so the whole night of the dance was pretty awkward. It didn’t help that we were 15-year-old kids in high school, because everyone knows how awkward high-schoolers can be. The only time we danced/talked together was when the slow songs came on, other than that we didn’t see each other that night. Any time I spent with her was just uncomfortable. Not exactly an ideal date.
—Ricky Gevis, Loyola volleyball
“Hair in my food”
The worst first date I have ever been on was a few years back. I was asked out for dinner, but had to drive myself to the restaurant. He was late to arrive and when he finally showed up, he didn’t offer to pay and there was hair in my food. I left immediately and we haven’t talked since.
—Megan Podkowa, DePaul basketball
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