During his NBA-mandated, 1 year of college basketball, Holiday often attended UCLA women’s games. One night, as he made his way down the bleachers at Pauley Pavilion, an overexcited fan cried at him:
“Yo! Darren Collison! Can I have your autograph?”
Politely, Holiday explained that he was not Darren Collison; just a teammate. Then, from behind him, Holiday heard this:
“It’s OK. You’re cuter than he is, anyway.”
Holiday turned and saw Lauren Cheney, the UCLA and Team USA midfielder, fresh off her Olympic gold-medal win in Beijing.
They shared friends for a year, then dated.
They shared pedicures for the past 3 years.
They shared her gold-medal moment in London last summer.
They will marry in July, and they will share the rest of their lives.
Why so young?
“She’s it. I know it’s her. I mean, I see what my parents have,” Holiday said. “I want that.”
Wow. Imagine the offspring; a set of DNA that would titillate the tentacles of any geneticist.
Whoa. Imagine the pressure; a set of expectations that would stimulate any psychologist.
“My parents never pressured us. I didn’t even know how good my mom and dad were until someone told us,” Holiday said. “Lauren and I - we veer away from the highlight. We send our medals and stuff back to our dads. Lauren says she wants nerds for kids. She wants them to play music, and know three different languages.”
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