People generally hope for the best as they head out on a date with a new man or woman.
However, sometimes dates do not turn out as planned, and an evening meant for romance turns into a disaster story that evokes bad memories or great stories for years to come. Students say there are many ways a date can turn sour.
University junior Joey Albert has had a few dating mishaps. A few years ago, Albert said he took a date to a Portland Trailblazers game at the Rose Garden. Those familiar with the arena know there is a large fountain in the courtyard that periodically spurts different water formations.
Albert decided to walk across the fountain during one of its intermissions. He was immediately soaked to the bone, humiliating him in front of his date — and thousands of sports fans, as he had to sit through the entire game sopping wet.
As if Albert’s dating life hadn’t been soiled enough, he was harshly introduced to the world of protective parents when he picked up a date for the first time. It wasn’t exactly a warm greeting that awaited him.
“They handed me a three-page test about the future and premarital sex,” he said.
Senior Tara Hadley has also been the victim of a few bad dates. Hadley said her worst date happened last summer, when a man she was dating took her camping along the Deschutes River with a group of his friends from Oregon State University.
“The fact that I was wearing an Oregon sweatshirt didn’t help,” Hadley said.
Hadley said her date got so drunk he wound up at the bottom of a steep hill after taking a wrong turn when trying to go to the bathroom. Then, he proceeded to vomit all over himself before passing out in the tent. Then, the next day, while rafting, the men all got a kick out of tossing Hadley in the river at every interval of calm water. Cold and annoyed, she waited out the miserable trip.
Needless to say, Hadley is no longer interested in this particular man.
Junior Tyler Stenson took a date to a Tracy Chapman concert in Portland. After the concert, Stenson’s car ran out of gas just a few miles from his date’s home.
“It was really humiliating, but she was gracious about it,” Stenson said.