What’s your worst hookup story? Can you bench press over 250 pounds? What’s your weirdest fetish? Would you want to answer these questions on a stage in front of over 500 UO students?
Well, 10 undergraduate men did. And their answers were nothing short of applause-inducing.
Connect@UO, a student-run networking organization, knew they wanted to host an “eye-catching” event, something that would surpass the popularity of last October’s performative male contest. They found their event in The Kupid Dating Show.
“I had a connection who was working at this startup that tours around the country doing these types of blind dating shows,” Connect@UO founder Aaron Busi said. “So I got in contact with a person who runs (Kupid), and we ended up just adopting their idea to bring it to UO.”
Kupid is the first live college comedy dating show brought to universities around the world. Founded in 2024 by Evan Rama, the show aims to “get students in the same room laughing again in a world that feels more separated than ever,” according to a promotional video.
Rama and Kupid creative director Taimoor Sohail flew to Eugene to host the 12th show on their Love Rush Tour alongside Busi. The partnership’s video promotions, posters and text blasts convinced over 1,000 students to reserve a free ticket for Wednesday’s show, hosted in 500-seat lecture hall Straub 156.
The show featured two rounds of five pre-selected men competing for the chance to take one woman on a date paid in full by Kupid. A makeshift glitter-lace barrier concealed the contestants from the woman as they answered a series of questions. The woman eliminated one man per question until there was only one remaining.
“(The show) seems like a really fun event to do in Eugene on a Wednesday when there’s not really too much to do, and it’s free,” third-year business student Victor Ngo said. “I heard a lot of people were going. There’s a lot of hype and good energy around this event.”
Prospective viewers began lining up for the show an hour before the doors opened at 6:50 p.m. Once the doors opened, students poured in while screens flashed clips from past Kupid shows, promising two hours of romance, rejection and raunchiness.
No time was wasted in delivering the raunchy aspect as names, grades and worst hookup stories served as icebreakers. “What’s the most romantic thing you have done for someone?” followed, providing thoughtful responses before revisiting the explicit with prompts such as “Describe your sex life as a fast food chain.”
If contestants were reluctant to share personal information, they didn’t show it.
Two rounds gleaned dance moves, role-played proposals, friendzoning, a childhood dog named after a fifth-grade crush and other admissions that would leave one’s parents startled, at best.
Crowd opinions and mini-games were integral to the show’s dynamic, punctuating each question with everything from a lap dance to a 10-second kiss. There was never a lull in the crowd’s enthusiasm to participate, even when the task at hand was “call your ex or current crush live.”
When a selected crowd member called their ex-significant other, a contestant’s phone began to ring. 500 gasps sounded. What happens when someone calls their ex who is competing on a dating show for someone other than them? The two parties confront one another with pointed fingers and conflicting reasons as to why their relationship ended, of course.
“I’ve done 20 shows and I’ve never seen that done before,” Rama said.
When all was confessed and done, a date would only be secured if the final contestant and woman gave a thumbs up once standing back-to-back with one another. The show, ultimately, failed to produce a romantic pairing, yet the event was far from a failure.
“It went a lot better than I thought (it would). Everyone was really into it, it seems like. We had to turn away hundreds of people at the door, which sucked. (But it was) so much fun,” Busi said.
After two years of taking The Kupid Dating Show on the road, Rama considered his visits to 20 universities and ranked his overall experience at UO second only to ASU. If ranking was solely based on crowd contribution, however, UO set the standard.
“In terms of the crowd and everything, (UO) is probably the best show we’ve had, the best crowd. You guys are very interactive,” Sohail said. Rama agreed.
UO students really do just want to be in the same room, laughing again if their reception of The Kupid Dating Show is any indication. The challenge in bringing people together, then, is not a question of public interest, but of marketing. Mix humor and technical skills in short-form video promotions like Connect@UO, and you’ll exceed room capacities, forced to turn people away at the door.
Good thing the “ginger run” they’re hosting next month will be outside.
