Newlyweds Sean Smith and Olivia Doiron of Bedford, N.S., will be heading to New York state this weekend to watch the Buffalo Bills play the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL divisional round playoff game.
Smith surprised Doiron with tickets during his vows at their wedding a month ago. The video of the reveal has gone viral.
“I vow to be truthful with you, to share with you my honest self, inside and out, and to hold no secrets,” Smith said. He then paused.
“But not always. Sometimes I may have to hold on to a secret bonus gift to give you during our ceremony.”
Smith then reached into his jacket to produce two tickets to a Bills game against an opponent of Doiron’s choice.
‘He is a really good gift giver’
Doiron gasped and then screamed “No, no, no, oh my God! Seriously?” Smith nodded.
“It’s not uncommon for him to surprise me. He’s really good at that. He is a really good gift giver,” Doiron said, adding that the couple had exchanged gifts prior to the ceremony at a Halifax hotel.
“Yet it was the best gift of all. It was me being able to see my favourite NFL team.”
Doiron told CBC News she’s been a fan of the AFC East champion Bills for a long time.
“I just really fell in love with this new wave of young quarterbacks that have come in. [They] have kind of changed the game up a bit, and Josh Allen is one of them,” Doiron said.
“He runs the ball more than most quarterbacks do. He just does what it takes to get it done for his team and get the first down and is running more touchdowns than any other quarterback. And I just love that. It’s amazing to watch on the screen at home, but it’s gonna be so amazing to watch live on Sunday.”
Smith said Doiron had been hinting for a while that she would like to see the Bills play in person.
“Prior to the wedding, she had mentioned, ‘Oh, I think within the next year we should definitely go at some point.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, sure. Like maybe, maybe we’ll do that,'” he said.
“Lo and behold, I’m kind of scheming in the background of potentially this is going to be a gift I give her.”
He said Doiron’s reaction was incredible and he’s happy with how their wedding videographer, Halifax-based Source Video Studio, captured the moment.
“Particularly the way that it was shot and stuff, like it is even more outrageous than I even sort of imagined. It’s really, really funny to see it back,” Smith said.
Fellow Bills fans show support
Smith posted the video to a Buffalo Bills group on Reddit while Doiron posted it to her Instagram account and it took off from there. It’s been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across Facebook, TikTok and other social platforms and made the official Buffalo Bills Instagram account.
The couple said going viral was like nothing they’ve ever experienced before. They said fellow Bills fans have been particularly nice.
“The Bills fans are like the best people on the planet Earth. Like we’ve been invited to more tailgates than you could name. And everyone’s been so accommodating, all the tips and tricks,” said Smith.
“My phone was just blowing up all day. New follows, messages from Bills fans offering to give us gear to come to their tailgate, free wings if [we] stop by [their] restaurant. It’s been absolutely incredible,” added Doiron.
Sunday evening’s game will mark the first time the couple has seen the Bills play in person. They previously attended a Chargers-Jaguars NFL game at SoFi Stadium in California.
