\n
I shot my shot \u2014 and ended up scoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though I don\u2019t exactly identify as a sports buff, I was excited to check out this past Friday\u2019s Brooklyn Nets vs. Atlanta Hawks NBA game at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t there to cheer on the Nets amid their tragic 19-59 season.<\/p>\n
Instead, I was among the single New Yorkers on a hunt for love at \u201cIn the Wild,\u201d an in-person dating experience founded by \u201cThe Bachelor\u201d Season 28 contestant Lexi Young, who hosted its first NYC pre-game event in the hopes of bringing Big Apple daters together to connect IRL.<\/p>\nPost reporter Allison Lax is not generally a sports buff, but was surprised to share sparks with Nets super-fan Ethan Hutchins. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nYoung, who moved back to her hometown of Atlanta following her time on \u201cThe Bachelor,\u201d started \u201cIn the Wild\u201d in 2024 after re-downloading Hinge to kickstart her own dating journey \u2014 only to realize the world of apps still wasn\u2019t for her. <\/p>\n\n<\/aside>\n\u201cThis can\u2019t be the only way to meet someone,\u201d the 32-year-old founder told The Post. (No kidding.)<\/p>\nMost daters at the Nets-Hawks \u201cLove in the Lane\u201d event signed up in the hopes of meeting their special someone through a shared favorite activity. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe \u201cLove in the Lane\u201d event took over Barclays Center even before Nets fans started to stream into the venue. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI ended up putting out a video that went viral on TikTok where I said, \u2018If you\u2019re single and live in Atlanta, we\u2019re going to have this big event,\u2019\u201d Young recalled. \u201cI thought no one was going to come, and we ended up having over 1,000 people show up \u2014 the line was wrapped around the block. I was like, \u2018Oh, I think there\u2019s something here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Turns out, Young had tugged on daters\u2019 heartstrings. <\/p>\n
In the past year and a half, \u201cIn the Wild\u201d \u2014 which focuses on getting people off apps and, as named, into the wild to find love \u2014 has hosted nearly 100 events and experiences, with chapters now in Atlanta, NYC and Nashville. <\/p>\n
Young proudly claimed that they have jump-started the relationships of more than 200 couples so far, with a handful of pairs even becoming engaged.<\/p>\n Getty Images for ESPN & CFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nYoung and the ITW team have been going especially \u201chard and fast\u201d into dating events teamed with sporting matchups like the one with the Nets, citing pre-game meet-ups as an opportunity for daters with a common interest to make strong bonds. She said they have even engaged in talks with the NFL and pro soccer teams in an effort to collab.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith other singles events, it can be challenging to get an even ratio of girls to guys,\u201d Young told The Post. \u201cWhen we do sporting events, it definitely brings out more men.\u201d<\/p>\n
When some friends and I arrived for Friday night\u2019s pre-game mixer and ice-breaker, target age range 25 to 35, at the Brooklyn complex\u2019s social hub Modelo Bridge, I was eager to see this selection for myself, having previously attended other singles events and being disappointed with the short supply of male suitors.<\/p>\n
And I definitely wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\nDaters at the pre-game mixer filled out \u201cLove in the Lane\u201d bingo cards, which included slots with categories like \u201cBeen to a Nets game solo\u201d and \u201cHas ghosted or been ghosted.\u201d stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cIn the Wild,\u201d founded by former \u201cBachelor\u201d contestant Lexi Young, has started to host more sports-focused dating events in the hopes of drawing out a male crowd for female daters. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nZoe Maher, a 26-year-old communications professional, had a similar history with prior dating events. She and her friend bought tickets to \u201cLove in the Lane,\u201d which had cost $60 a pop with one drink included, after seeing an advertisement on Instagram \u2014 and were hopeful to break their own losing streaks as single ladies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re both from Georgia, so when I saw this was the Nets vs. the Hawks, I was, like, \u2018Oh, what a nice little hometown connection,\u2019\u201d Maher told The Post. \u201cWith a free drink added in, it just seemed like it would be a good night.\u201d<\/p>\n
It probably helps that most ITW events also involve a pre-vetting process \u2014 with men even requiring a formal sign-off from a woman in their lives to ensure \u201ca higher quality of guest.\u201d Participants also fill out pre-event compatibility surveys to be matched with someone else attending the experience, opening an envelope at the end to see if their \u201cperfect match\u201d was the one they ended up vibing with that night.<\/p>\nZoe Maher and her new friend, Gabrielle Lopez, each attended in the hopes of finding a match with whom they could share their love of sports. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAt first, it seemed like both Maher\u2019s and my hopes would be dashed once again, after seeing a lack of men in general at the beginning of the mixer, with even fewer whom we were actually attracted to.<\/p>\n
But as I continued to mingle \u2014 making friends with fellow female daters and filling out my \u201cLove in the Lane\u201d bingo card, which included spaces like \u201cBeen to a Nets game solo\u201d and \u201cHas ghosted or been ghosted\u201d \u2014 I ended up chatting with two guys who came together as friends.<\/p>\n
Against all my expectations, one of them even became my date for the night \u2014 a 32-year-old veterinary clinic receptionist (and avid Nets fan) named Ethan Hutchins. <\/p>\n
As Ethan and I continued talking after our brief interview, I could feel a connection starting to grow. So when a member of the Nets\u2019 public relations team offered us special seats closer to the action, we immediately said yes.<\/p>\n
A surprise appearance on the Jumbotron \u201ckiss cam\u201d didn\u2019t hurt, either.<\/p>\nLax and Hutchins shared a moment on the Barclays Center \u201ckiss cam.\u201d stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile the game itself, which the Nets lost to the Hawks <\/a>141-107, ended up being so-so to this non-basketball fan, it did give me a new appreciation for the way a love for the game can bring people together \u2014 even daters.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re really trying to bring singles together who are already going to these massive sporting events and find a way for them to connect and then follow up,\u201d said Young. \u201cIt\u2019s a really nice synergy, since these people already have tickets to the game, they\u2019re single, and they want to find other single people who are going. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to give them an avenue to do that.\u201d<\/p>\nLax and Hutchins put the \u201ckiss cam\u201d to appropriately good use. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThough I lost track of Maher\u2019s romantic fate in the flurry of my own love connection, Ethan and I have already taken that avenue to the real-life dating arena, having gone on a proper date the day after the game. <\/p>\n
With plans to see each other this coming weekend, one can only guess what the future holds \u2014 a bucket or an air ball \u2014 further down the court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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