When Matt Fitz-Gerald bought bride-to-be Valerie a bloodhound as an engagement gift in June 2009, the two University of Arizona alums named their new dog "Nic Wise" after the starting point guard on the school's basketball team.
It was a gesture friends found fitting since both Matt and Valerie were huge Wildcats fans, but it paled in comparison to the Nic Wise-themed wedding the Phoenix couple had earlier this year.
A few days before the wedding, Matt bought a No. 13 Arizona jersey for each of the 30 people in the bridal party and had each one embroidered with nicknames such as Uncle Buck, Red Headed Milk Man and The Situation. Then he gave a speech at the rehearsal dinner explaining each nickname and handed out the Nic Wise jerseys one-by-one for his guests to wear.
"My parents thought it was pretty funny and they were excited to get a UofA jersey with funny nickname on the back," Matt said. "I think her parents thought it was funny too, but at the same time I definitely don't think they expected to get an Arizona basketball jersey at the rehearsal dinner."
Neither the newlyweds nor members of the bridal party actually wore their Arizona jerseys during the wedding itself, but Matt and Valerie did decide to don theirs again at the reception. Valerie wore a white jersey to match her wedding dress while Matt had on a dark blue jersey over his button-down shirt but underneath his black tuxedo jacket and cummerbund.
Matt and Valerie had a chance to meet Wise at an Arizona alumni function in Phoenix prior to the Wildcats' road game against Arizona State last season. Valerie told Wise about the bloodhound and the senior point guard was surprised and flattered that the couple would name their dog after him.
"I let my wife do the majority of the talking," Matt said. "If I went up to him and told him we named a dog after him, he'd be like, 'Who is this guy? Get him away from me.' But he was actually pretty cool about it."
Wise graduated from Arizona in June and now plays professionally in Europe, but someone sent him a picture from the wedding reception last month.
"Almost in tears from this pic I just got in my email," he Tweeted. "These people just got married in MY JERSEY."
No matter how great a basketball career Wise ends up having, not too many fans are going to top that.
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