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george's picks
There's plenty to enjoy at a football game.
In addition to the game, there's delicious food and drink, the halftime show and couples kissing on the stadium's jumbotron screens.
Though there's always the awkward chance one half of a couple might reject their significant other's kiss, for all to see.
Such was the case for a young couple at a recent Wake Forest/Duke game, which was caught not only by in-person attendees and viewers watching the game's broadcast on ESPN, but in a viral video.
The video has since received over 6.9 million views on the TikTok account @oldrowofficial.
@oldrowofficial #foryou #fyp #wakeforest
With a computerized voice over reading the overlay, "No nut November awaits, stay vigilant kings", the nine second video captured what appeared to be a young boyfriend and girlfriend.
The girlfriend was caught lovingly staring into her boyfriend's eyes, and appeared to be moving in to peck him on the lips.
But before their lips had the opportunity to meet, the boyfriend abruptly looked away from her, and she awkwardly jolted her head in the same direction he turned as well.
While the boyfriend had a smile on his face at the end of the video, the girlfriend's face appeared to have that all too familiar veil of rejection.
Viewers of the video were beside themselves with amusement, with several making predictions about the couple and the future which awaited them.
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
@oldrowofficial/TikTok
However, the couple featured in the video have since spoken out, revealing those nine, painfully awkward seconds might not have been exactly what they appeared to be.
The young man offered up a detailed explanation of what he claimed really transpired in a lengthy Reddit post.
from tifu
The young man, who's name remains unconfirmed, first revealed his unexpected 15 minutes of fame resulted in his being bombarded by friends and family, both close and slightly less so.
"I have gotten texts from high school friends I haven't talked to in years, random college classmates, and my sister and mom who have all seen that video, and I'm gonna take this brief moment of internet fame to explain what actually happened."
He then clarified what was captured was not a rejected a kiss, but rather an "inside joke" he and his new girlfriend had recently created.
Neither of them were aware they were being recorded.
"Basically, I've been talking to this girl for a while and we just started dating about a week ago."
"I tell her she should come to the Wake game since we are undefeated and will probably win."
"She says yes."
"We go with a group of friends, and we are having a great time."
"Throughout the game we are flirting, hugging, kissing a little bit, etc..."
"We also do this thing where one of us leans in for a kiss, and the other person leans away, which is an inside joke between the two of us."
"So, we do our little inside joke thing, and unbeknownst to us, we are being recorded."
The fact their "inside joke' has since become a viral video, is not particularly appreciated by the young man.
"Anyway, the internet is full of horrible people and I haven't done any work this weekend, so I'm gonna go do that now. Peace"
The young man found some supporters who managed to fight their way through the "horrible people" of the internet in the comment section of his Reddit post.
Most Redditors found the gimmick he has with his girlfriend adorable, and encouraged them to keep doing it in spite of all the unwanted attention they recently received.
"When you two get married, and the Priest says 'You may kiss the bride' you should totally do this again." - hoosyourdaddyo·
"Ahhhh the joys of relationships. No one on the outside understands that weird sh*t" - anxybean·
"Thanks for the explanation but don't let folks kill your vibe. Y'all look good together, I hope this event is something funny and doesn't add any pressure to the relationship. Best of luck homie." - pretendvacation570
"You guys are adorable. Don't worry luckily the internet has a short attention span." - generaltso81
Hey man, let the internet be sh*t, don't let it get you down! You'll have a killer story in some time and will be able to laugh at this! It's the ultimate inside joke between you guys now! - Hofnerfender
The young man also posted an explanation on his TikTok account, which has apparently since been deleted.
The young woman in the video also seems to have deleted her TikTok account, but likewise posted an explanation regarding the viral video before doing so.
"Me and the guy are dating, we just started going out recently."
"Whenever we kiss each other it's like a joke between us where one of us will swerve so that we don't actually kiss, so that's what was kind of going on there."
"We didn't know we were being recorded so me getting rejected was caught live on national television."
Unlike her apparently new boyfriend, the young woman seems to be taking the surprise, internet fame a bit more in stride.
"I was a little embarrassed but now it's kind of funny between all of us."
Here's hoping this is just one bump on the road to a happy relationship.