Full-time chef and part-time romantic Ricardo Juarez thought it would be a good idea to hop onto the field at Dodgers Stadium during the seventh inning stretch on opening day to propose to his girlfriend, Ramona Saavedra, who was watching from the centerfield stands.
Wearing a Mookie Betts jersey and a Dodgers cap, Juarez jogged about 20 yards into centerfield, turned to the stands, went down on one knee and raised the ring box high above his head.
He looked wide-eyed into the stands in a blissful moment that drew “Awwws” from many of the 52,000 fans attending the contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Even Diamondbacks’ left fielder Lourdes Gurriel seemed to be enjoying Juarez’s moxie as he raised his arms in support and watched the proposal from a few yards away.
In a blink, the touching proposal went very, very wrong when a security guard in a full sprint threw his body headlong into Juarez — flattening the man and sending his cap flying.
Soon two other security guards joined the scrum, handcuffing and arresting Juarez for his overzealous attempt to win his girlfriend’s heart.
Countless smartphones captured the action in realtime and the videos quickly went viral on many social media and streaming platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Twitter user @Mazeaveli captured the scene as viewed from the centerfield stands. See the video here…
After being released by the LAPD and told by the Dodgers organization that he wasn’t permitted to attend another game for at least a year, the head chef at Oishii Sushi & Teriyaki, completed his proposal in front of a Motel 8 on Sunset Boulevard.
On Instagram, Saavedra showed off her new fiancé and new engagement ring, and commented about the on-field incident: “Tad bit extreme but he’s a LEO, what can you expect? And of course I said YES!”
Saavedra told KABC’s Eyewitness News that her boyfriend was feeling the aftereffects of the aggressive tackle.
“He says he’s a little sore, but I think he will feel it tomorrow,” Saavedra said. “He doesn’t care, he’s like, ‘I would do it again.'”
Saavedra added she was shocked to see her boyfriend hop over the short wall in centerfield and jog onto the turf.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Saavedra said. “We were so close to the field he just thought it was so easy to just jump off and do it.”
Juarez told reporters that he was initially going to propose in the stands, but the excitement of opening day combined with some liquid courage amassed during their party bus ride to the game eventually got the better of him.
Credits: Screen caps via Twitter.com / @Mazeaveli. Couple photo via Instagram.com / ramonasavvedra_nini_/.
