Eugenie Bouchard may have been confident in her prognosticating skills as she watched Super Bowl LI Sunday night, but when the Canadian tennis player called an Atlanta Falcons victory early on, John Goehrke wasn’t convinced.

“I was like, ‘It’s the second quarter. It’s not over.’ I know how good the Patriots are and I know Tom Brady. I had confidence he could come back,” said Goehrke, also known as Twitter user @punslayintwoods.

That faith in New England might have landed the 20-year-old University of Missouri marketing student a date with the 22-year-old tennis star.

Goehrke, a Los Angeles Rams fan with a soft spot for Brady, has been a fan of Bouchard’s since she finished as runner-up at Wimbledon in 2014. He knew immediately he wanted to reply to her pro-Falcons tweet, but wanted to come back with something wittier than a blasé “It’s not over yet.”

Instead, he proposed a bet: if the Patriots won, he and Bouchard would go on a date.

“It just popped into my head that I should say that, so I did,” Goehrke said. “I follow her, so I’ve seen her respond to fans every now and again. I thought there was a chance she’d respond, just because she might think it was funny or something, but I didn’t think there was any chance she’d say sure or yes and agree to it.”

But that’s exactly what Bouchard did.

Bouchard’s bet seemed safe at the time, given that the Falcons were leading 28-3 in the third quarter. Then Brady and Co. mounted the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, whittling away at a 25-point deficit until the now five-time champions pulled off a stunning 34-28 victory in overtime.

Bouchard admitted to growing nervous as the clock ticked down and the Patriots’ score grew, at one point asking where Goehrke lived.

Lesson learned, she tweeted after James White scored the winning touchdown: Never bet against Brady.

She will be honouring her wager with Goehrke.

“I will do it; I stay true to my word,” she tweeted Monday.

Bouchard, who watched the game with her mom and brother, told TSN she was completely shocked by the Patriots’ win.

“I was so confident but I think I was too confident. I just tempted fate a little too much. Here’s my punishment,” she said.

Despite her busy schedule, coupled with Goehrke’s school commitments, she hopes to get her Twitter beau out to an upcoming tournament.

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“I’ll fly him out, but beside that, he has to be the gentleman and organize a fun date night,” she said.

Goehrke is up for that challenge, though he says the specific activities will depend on where in the world the two are when their paths cross.

The two had yet to exchange any private messages as of Monday night, but Bouchard is now following Goehrke on Twitter.

“About that date?” he tweeted at her Monday afternoon.

The series of posts between the two went viral on social media, and also drew the attention of Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

“I definitely didn’t expect it to go that big,” Goehrke said.

Goehrke is from Chicago and studies in Missouri. Bouchard has family in Quebec, has a home in Miami Beach and travels the world on tour. A long trip is probably out, but Goehrke is flexible.

“As long as it’s realistic, I’m willing to do whatever to try to make it work.”

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