Ben McCleskey and Avery Armstrong are set to get married at an upcoming Atlanta Hawks game, and that is a very strange thing to do.
ESPN’s Darren Rovell recently tweeted out a picture of the couple with the caption, “Ben McCleskey and Avery Armstrong met at the @ATLHawks Tinder ‘Swipe Right Night’ in 2015. The two will get married at the Hawks game on March 3. Team picking up costs for 200 guests.”
Ben McCleskey and Avery Armstrong met at the @ATLHawks Tinder “Swipe Right Night” in 2015. The two will get married at the Hawks game on March 3. Team picking up costs for 200 guests. pic.twitter.com/Bull5WDQG0
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 14, 2018
Let me start by saying that I’m sure McCleskey and Armstrong are a very happy couple. I have no doubt about that, and I wish them nothing but the best. It just seems to me that they’re being used as a prop by the Hawks for some good PR.
It’s a nice gesture by the Hawks without a doubt. I’m sure 200 guests at an NBA wedding produces a hefty tab, but I’m also very confident it’ll amount to pennies for an NBA team. Call me traditional, even though I would argue I’m not, but getting married at a professional sporting even seems a bit absurd. The day should be about the couple, not about the basketball game going on in the background.
I will make one exception to my rule against getting married at a sporting event. If your team is in the Super Bowl, and the NFL offers you the chance to get married right before kickoff or during halftime, you have to do it. No debate about that one. A Hawks game in March? I’m not seeing the same appeal.
UPDATE: A representative from the Atlanta Hawks reached out, and clarified the wedding will happen between on a day between home games. There won’t be a game during the wedding, despite what Rovell’s tweet says.