‘Genie’ goes on bet date

The Canadian Press

NEW YORK–Eugenie Bouchard is not one to welch on a bet.
The tennis star from Westmount, Que. went on a date with New England Patriots’ fan John Goehrke last night after the two agreed to a bet over Twitter during Super Bowl 51.
Bouchard had tweeted that she “knew Atlanta would win” with the Falcons holding a big lead over the Patriots during the NFL’s championship game.
The fan then asked her to go on a date if the Patriots somehow ended up winning and in what must have seemed like a low-risk reply, Bouchard said, “Sure.”
After New England came back to win 34-28 in overtime, she tweeted: “Lesson learned. Never bet against Tom Brady.”
On Wednesday, Bouchard followed through on the bet and tweeted a photo of the two of them in the backseat of a car with the caption, “Just met my ‘Super Bowl Twitter Date’ John.
“On our way to the @BrooklynNets game!”
Bouchard later posted a video of her and her date sitting courtside as the Nets hosted the Milwaukee Bucks.
“It’s going great. He’s normal. It’s awesome,” Bouchard, standing next to a smiling Goehrke, told the Yes Network at the game.
“I was a little bit worried because his Twitter profile picture was a picture of Tiger Woods,” she noted.
“So I was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s one of those super-fans. I don’t even know what he looks like.’
“But he’s awesome, such a sports fan, and we’re going to enjoy each other,” Bouchard added.
“It’s great.”
Meanwhile, Bouchard, ranked 44th in the world, now can add swimsuit model to her résumé.
She is part of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition.
She was in New York for Sports Illustrated and decided on the basketball game for the date because it would be “probably less awkward” than a one-on-one dinner since they didn’t know each other.