Port Adelaide’s quirky match-day dating tradition took a dramatic turn on the weekend, as their latest Perfect Pear pairing fell apart before it even began, thanks to a heavily hungover contestant who failed to show up on time.
The Perfect Pear campaign, a regular feature at Power home games, is designed to set fans up on blind dates in front of the crowd.
But this week’s effort turned into an awkward spectacle, with the male participant turning up late and clearly worse for wear after a big session at the casino.
"Hope had no hope in the end"
Club MC Jarrod Walsh recounted the mishap on SEN SA Breakfast, saying: “First of all, the guy rocked up late so we had to shift the whole pre-match introduction, because he was late. Safe to say he had had a pretty solid Saturday morning at the casino.”
The match-day team eventually had to scrap the segment, leaving the female contestant, aptly named Hope, abandoned in the stands.
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“A little under the weather? He was a lot under the weather. We had to pull the pin,” Walsh said. “We set the person up, her name was Hope, and she had no hope in the end.”
At three-quarter time, when the crowd usually checks in on how the couple is getting along, Walsh had to break the news to her in person. “I had to go up (to Hope) at three-quarter time and say sorry your date's not here, we will give you all your packs and wish her all the best.”
Even Port Adelaide players couldn’t help but notice. “Ollie Wines comes up and says, 'What happened to Perfect Pear, the guy didn’t show up?'” Walsh added.