This spring has been a bad one as far as the sports calendar goes, but even in the rain there are some events you can't postpone.
A wedding would be at the top of that list.
Now, I know there are jokers who would compare matrimony to the competitive nature of athletics, those who act as though the relationship between husband and wife is one where each is playing against the other. That isn't what this is about.
Article Photos
Sentinel photo by CRYSTAL?SNOOK
The bride, the groom and the beaver:?Dave Snook and Missy Bowersox were married Saturday in a somewhat less than traditional ceremony at Beaver Springs Dragway.
And there are proposals flashed on video screens at sports events all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the crowd at a Hershey Bears game egg on some bride to be to reject the proposal put forth, usually during a media timeout early in the game - and then cheer loudly when she inevitably accepts.
But this is about an actual wedding that was framed in the world of sports.
A crazy idea? Absolutely - but hardly a new one. Weddings take place here and there during Minor League Baseball games, and the rites have been heard in a few major league venues, too - in fact, a pair of fans were married in the stands at a Philadelphia Eagles game in January, and a quick scouring of the Internet will turn up a video of a couple taking their vows on the ice at an Atlanta Thrashers NHL game.
The wedding I attended Saturday wasn't even alone in terms of sports weddings this past weekend - on Sunday, the mascot from Winthrop University took part in a wedding.
But it's not every day that Beaver Springs Dragway hosts a happy couple. Leave it to my brother-in-law to change that.
You may know the happy couple, especially if you spend any time running the quarter mile in Snyder County. Dave Snook, owner of his own automotive repair and performance shop in Bannerville, took as his bride Missy Bowersox, whom the folks in Milroy will surely tell you makes a mean pizza.
The drag-strip wedding proved to be nothing like any other wedding I've attended, and perhaps even more unusual than some of the edgier ceremonies to which I've been invited.
There were unique fashion issues to consider - does the ball cap or the bandana go better with a tux and tails? It proved to be a tough call - the black baseball hat was certainly classier, but the hair wrap that matched the bowties and cummerbunds was pretty nice, too. The bride needed a gown that would conceal her work boots; the bridemaids were tasked with finding flip-flops that would match their dresses.
Actually, the hard part for the bride was fitting into her carriage, a dragster emblazoned with the words "Wild Thing" that was drawn by more horsepower than 100 wedding coaches combined.
The only surprise to me was that "Beaver" Bob McCardle, the effervescent drag strip promoter who is its face and persona, was not there to see the ceremony in person. Actually, I wouldn't have been surprised to see him performing the ceremony.
Still, the pastor used the parables of the sport as a lesson for the couple as they took their vows. Despite the fact that the ceremony had to move indoors from the starting line - the one concession made to the weather - it's true that the starting line and the race, the efforts of a team to find success are what married life is all about.
Although it's the other kind of racing that features all the colored flags, let's hope that the track stays green for the newlyweds for many a mile. This is one race that should never see the checkered banner.
Jeff Fishbein is sports editor of The Sentinel. Contact him at jfishbein@lewistownsentinel.com.
