When Amy Werdine, an employee of the Minnesota Vikings, and her girlfriend, Colleen Caffrey, were at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday watching the Vikings-Titans game, they were stunned to see a message pop up on the stadium’s video board.
It showed the two women holding each other with the words, “Amy and Colleen, Congratulations!” illuminating the high-def screen with an appropriate purple background.
Just the day before, the women announced their engagement and Werdine, the Vikings’ Guest Relations Coordinator who is openly gay, was floored to see the recognition, though she should not have been that surprised.
“It was an absolute shock to see the Vikings organization put a congratulatory announcement on the video board during our game on Sunday for Colleen and me,” she told Outsports. “I have known for years that I am accepted and loved for who I am within the Vikings organization, but to see such a public display of support at halftime of an NFL game instantly brought tears to my eyes. It meant so much to Colleen and me (even though she’s a Packer fan!) and was the cherry on top of a perfect weekend.”
Werdine, 28, and Caffrey, 31, the director of accounting for Bright Health, met on Bumble a year and a half ago and started dating. Werdine was hooked on their second date.
“We both love college basketball and were sitting and watching March Madness at a sports bar,” Werdine said. “The Tennessee men’s basketball game was on and all of a sudden she turns to me starts talking about Pat Summitt and how much she loved and admired her as a person and coach.
“I look at her in shock because Pat Summitt was and still is one of my heroes and Tennessee women’s basketball was my first love. I am from Tampa, Florida, and never played basketball, and she grew up a basketball player in Minnesota, yet here we were gushing over the former Tennessee women’s basketball coach and her legacy. The fact that we both loved Pat Summitt so much really stuck with me, and I remember it being the moment that I knew I wanted to get to know this woman better and wanted her in my life.”
COVID-19 has meant no fans at Vikings games except for some employees like Werdine, but that didn’t make the moment of seeing her relationship validated by the team any less special. The couple are planning a wedding for the fall of 2021 in Minnesota.
“I can’t get over how perfect this weekend was,” she said on Facebook, and it’s easy to see why.
