Kenny Lovelace proposed to his girlfriend, Molly Ryan, at a Colorado Rockies home game on Sept. 20, and photographer Kerinsa Mullins was there to document the couple's special moment at Coors Field.
At the time, everything seemed to go perfectly -- Ryan said yes, of course -- but when Mullins uploaded the images from the game to her computer the following Monday, she noticed that one of the shots included a special salutation from an older woman sitting between her lens and the couple.
"I knew she wasn't happy just because they were yelling at me," Mullins said of the woman in the photo above and the man sitting to the woman's right. "But I was really just focused more on the proposal because it's such a short moment, and that's what I was there to photograph."
According to Mullins, the finger got flipped during the fourth inning of the Rockies' 9-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. She had planned to slide down a few seats during the proposal, so that she could get just Lovelace and Ryan in the frame. But a family moved into the open seats to her left during the inning, so she was forced to shoot from right where she was.
"So I stood up, and it was actually the guy next to her who yelled at me to sit down," Mullins said. "I quickly responded, 'There's a proposal going on behind you that I'm photographing,' and they essentially just said, 'We don't care, sit down,' and kept yelling. But I ignored them -- not because I was trying to be rude, that certainly was not my intention -- and I really got out of their way as quickly as I could."
"It couldn't have been more than 20 seconds at most," she added. "It was so incredibly short, though I will give her that the Rockies were at bat . . . There was literally nothing special going on, but she's a super fan, so I give her that."
Fortunately for Mullins, she got plenty of other photos from the proposal, so the woman's one-finger salute didn't ruin the moment -- but even if that had been the only photo taken, Mullins says it would have been just fine.
"I know that some people see this as a horrible way to ruin a proposal photo, but Molly and Kenny and her parents and I all agree that she makes the photo better for being in it," Mullins said. "It's just an indication that no matter what you do in life -- no matter how amazing it is or how happy you are -- there's going to be somebody around you who is not happy about what's going on in their life.
"And it was just funny to see the range of emotions all in one photo. Kenny's so nervous and Molly's mother, sitting beside her, is just ecstatic. The stranger above them is so happy, and then there's the curmudgeon giving me the bird."
Lovelace and Ryan are planning their wedding for some time in 2015, and, to show that there are no hard feelings, they say they'd love for the woman in the photo to come. So if you know who she is, drop me a line on Twitter or at samgardnerfox@gmail.com so we can get her a save-the-date.
Now, for some links:
- An A-Rod supporter says MLB security threw hot coffee on him .
- Oh, and A-Rod's alleged defense? That he was tricked into using steroids.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins wore Pirates gear and played Wiffle ball on ice:
- Pete Carroll blames NCAA sanctions (you know, the ones that came for actions under his watch) for Lane Kiffin's downfall.
- Atlanta Braves slugger Dan Uggla is expected to be left off the team's NLDS roster , and with good reason -- he's hitting .099 since July 31.
- This video is from an event called Stunt Fest , and it is incredible:
- Toronto Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia is engaged to a member of The Band Perry .
- Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova are reportedly having relationship problems .
- George Parros knocked himself out in an opening-night fight Tuesday:
- DeAngelo Hall stopped an interview after he was told he could be fined over the shirt he had on.
- Baylor woos its basketball recruits with live bears .
- If Magic Johnson holds up his end of a promise to Jay Leno, you probably don't want the LA Dodgers winning the World Series:
- Sports on Earth helps you decide who to root for in the MLB playoffs.
- B.J. and Justin Upton were recently honored with giant bobble-head dolls .
- Aaron Murray took his offensive line out for ice cream:
Jersey still clean @wattsdantzler @dandrews61 @jtheus71 @KoltonHouston75 @DallasLee_64 @KenGates72 @DAwg_Pound79 pic.twitter.com/pB9E1pW7aA
-- Aaron Murray (@aaronmurray11) October 1, 2013 I love our QB ! #nosacks pic.twitter.com/7tTr8832Lp
-- Watts Dantzler (@wattsdantzler) October 1, 2013 - Arian Foster reportedly called a players-only meeting .
- The Miami Marlins' commemorative no-hitter tickets have the wrong date on them.
- Two fans smashed bottles over fellow tailgaters' heads at the Cowboys-Chargers game ( NSFW language ):
- Jay Z thinks his experience as a drug dealer will help him as an agent . OK then.
- UMass football is under fire over the reported treatment of players in a conditioning video.
- Witness, the 20 longest home runs in Major League Baseball this season:
- J.R. Smith admits he delayed knee surgery until after his new contract was signed.
- Ricky Williams sleeps on Spiderman sheets in a college dorm.
- Kobe Bryant is not ashamed to admit he got some of his moves from MJ:
Domino effect. I stole some of his..this generation stole some of mine #thecycle
-- Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) October 1, 2013 - Some sharp Baylor uniforms for this weekend:
Here is our uni combo for the WVU game. Wear gold and #BringTheBling #SicWVU pic.twitter.com/IIIfQc4ZvG
-- Jeff Barlow (@JeffEquipBU) October 1, 2013 - A neat, long read on how D-III football might be saving liberal arts colleges across the country.
- Michael Keaton is pumped about the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- I'M A NASCAR DRIVER:
- Rajon Rondo says he didn't feel anything when Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were traded.
- Kevin Durant is selling his home in Oklahoma City.
- UNI's quarterback interviewed fellow students about himself:
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.