A Cullen story: How Matt met (and wooed) Bridget

Matt and Bridget Cullen started hanging out in chemistry class at Moorhead High School. But she figured out she'd 'always love him' in a very odd place.

August 16, 2012 at 5:49PM
Matt Cullen scores and celebrates in February.
Matt Cullen scores and celebrates in February. (Associated Press - Ap/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Fargo newspaper recently wrote a story about Bright Cullen's life as the wife of a professional athlete, in her case Minnesota Wild center Matt Cullen.

We will not go into great detail about the lip gloss and the ponytail.

But Bridget, a basketball star at Moorhead High School, relates two of the turning points in their relationship. Some of us meet and fall in love at parties and movies.

Others?

The Forum's Roxanne B. Salonen writes: "The sparks first began to pop in chemistry class at Moorhead High School in the early-1990s, initially more out of mutual curiosity, one star athlete to another. 'He'd say, 'Who is this girl who's always in The Forum?' she says.'He was in there, too, for hockey, so it was like, 'Oh, you're that girl who plays basketball.' '

"One day they ended up sitting near each other, though separated by an aisle. When the instructor asked the class to find a partner, instead of turning toward his buddies, Matt reached out across the aisle. He just put his hand out for like a high-5 but lower, so I put my hand out there, too, and it just stayed there, for a little too long; it was weird. After that we started dating."

A few years later, after they'd gone their separate ways, Matt moved in for the clincher ... at church.

Bridget: "We were sitting in two completely different places, and the way the lines were moving to go to Communion, it was like something in a storybook. My line was so slow and his was so fast, and all of a sudden … we were walking down the aisle together. At that point, Matt nudged her, and though she tried to avoid his glance, she says, it was futile. "I knew then that I'd always love him.' "

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Sweeeeeeeeeeet.

You can read the full story here. But make sure you read to the very end, when Bridget Cullen scores serious points for answering the question "'Where would you be without Matt?"

about the writer

about the writer

Howard Sinker

Digital Sports Editor

Howard Sinker is digital sports editor at startribune.com and curates the website's Sports Upload blog. He is also a senior instructor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul.

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