Eugenie Bouchard: The Super Bowl social media bet that backfired
Genie Bouchard lost a bet with a fan as New England won the Super Bowl. Photo: Getty
Former tennis world No.5 Eugenie Bouchard has learned a valuable lesson – never bet against the NFL’s greatest ever quarterback.
The Canadian heartthrob was tweeting regularly during Monday’s Super Bowl, which saw the New England Patriots come from the clouds to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime.
The Falcons were cruising, leading 21-0 and then 28-3 during the match, but a schoolboy from Chicago — known on Twitter as @punslayintwoods — thought they could still win.
Responding to a Tweet from Bouchard, he cheekily asked for a date if the tide turned at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Eugenie Bouchard accepted the bet with the Chicago schoolboy. Photo: Twitter
Bouchard, who has just shy of one million Twitter followers, simply responded with “sure”.
New England, inspired by now five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, refused to accept defeat.
From 28-3 down, a James White touchdown got them in the contest and Danny Amendola added one of his own shortly after.
Bouchard’s confidence in Atlanta — and in her bet — slowly deflated, and she admitted that she was nervous as the Patriots surged.
Still, the Patriots needed to complete the biggest comeback in the Super Bowl’s history to win, and with a minute left, trailed 28-20.
And the fairytale finish was complete when Brady handed off to James White for the winning touchdown.
It was less of a fairytale for Bouchard, however, as she tweeted her shock at the result.
Omfg
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) February 6, 2017
Bouchard, who has previously dated NHL hockey player Alex Galchenyuk and another hockey star, Jordan Caron, was gracious in defeat, asking where the winner lived.
“So … where do you live?” she sent the unknown user.
He responded with excitement, revealing he was still at school.
Chicago. Go to school in Missouri. We can go on a date where ever you want! 😜
— TW1 (@punslayintwoods) February 6, 2017
Bouchard is currently ranked 47th in the world, and reached the third round of the recently completed Australian Open where she lost to eventual semi-finalist, CoCo Vandeweghe, in three sets.
She is one of the most popular players on the women’s professional tour with more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram.
And it is unlikely she will make another bet on social media, tweeting that she had learned from the experience.
Lesson learned. Never bet against Tom Brady 😇
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) February 6, 2017
It remains to be seen whether the date will actually take place.