The Islanders season opened with a very awkward proposal.
During the second period of the Panthers’ 3-1 win, a man was filmed proposing on the stairs at UBS Arena. His presumed girlfriend didn’t appear too enthused about it.
The woman sat in her seat for moment, before she went over to the man, who was down on one knee, holding a ring box. She grabbed his hands and the two exchanged words, but it’s unclear if she accepted the proposal.
Meanwhile, some fans were chanting, “Just say no.”
The woman then ran away, up the stairs. It’s unclear if she returned to her seat, where the man sat solo after the failed proposal, sipping his beer.
Dan Rosen of NHL.com, who was covering the game and sitting nearby, tweeted what he saw from the media press box.
“Kiss cam time and a guy takes off his shirt and written on his chest is ‘PLZ SAY YES YES YES.’ He gets down on one knee and proposes,” Rosen tweeted.
A shirtless man appeared to get denied in a failed proposal at the Islanders-Panthers game at UBS Arena on Oct. 13, 2022. NHL/YouTube
A shirtless man appeared to get denied in a failed proposal at the Islanders-Panthers game at UBS Arena on Oct. 13, 2022. NHL/YouTube“Camera cuts away. But I could see them from the press box. The girl got up and left. She flat out left. And the Panthers scored. Can’t make it up.”
The broadcast team calling the game had fun with the proposal.
“To put a bow on that, the woman did say, ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ to the proposal,” reporter Shannon Hogan said. “But I’m not sure it’s the happiest moment since their team just went down by 1 right after he proposed.”
Analyst Butch Goring chimed in and said, “It took her a long time, she was thinking,” to which play-by-play man Brendan Burke replied, “She’s still thinking about that I’ll tell you what.”
There is always the possibility that the proposal was staged, as teams have been known to do. The NHL’s video on the situation was titled: “A shirtless proposal at Islanders game? YES YES YES!”
“Gotta be staged. Praying it’s staged,” one person tweeted.
“Even Isles fans taking L’s in the new arena,” another person tweeted, referring to the Islanders’ UBS Arena on Long Island, which became home to the team last season.
The Islanders host the Ducks Saturday.
