A Dodgers Love Story: Twitter, Friends, and Great Timing

2020 will be a year that none of us will ever forget, and one that has changed our lives in ways none of us could have ever predicted. The world had become a dark place in many ways, with online news and information-saturated with more bad news than good…until a recent social media post put a welcome smile on many a face throughout the world of Dodgers Twitter and beyond, when well-known fans Rebekah and Jorge announced their engagement.

Twitter is a crazy place & because of it, I met this man. & now we're engaged! pic.twitter.com/Nn50VfqgR8

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— Mrs. Dingers (@DodgerFoodie) June 21, 2020

Yes, folks, good things can happen on Twitter, and it’s even possible to meet the love of your life.

Well-known, true blue Dodgers fan Rebekah S of Los Angeles (active on Twitter and IG as @DodgerFoodie) was born to be a baseball fan. With her contagious passion and optimism for the team and her ability to see the good in and relate to people from all walks of life, she is a friend to all…and without question, she loves her team.

“The Dodgers…are my favorite thing in the whole world”, she told me recently. “When I was in some of the darkest times of my life, they were there. They’re not just the ‘team from LA’ – they are a part of me. I remember the ’88 World Series well, and the ’81 series is one of my very first memories. When they win again, I will be a sobbing mess, but I will be so happy!  I love them so much.”

Loving this team is part of her DNA, having been a fan of the team since she was born. In fact, she can’t remember ever not being a fan, with some of her earliest memories being that on watching Dodgers games at her Grandpa’s house, where the game was always on.

“Both of my brothers now favor the Angels, but my Mom and I still enjoy games together…I know my Granpda watches in heaven. Near the end, he wasn’t very lucid, but our last real conversation was about Clayton Kershaw”.

In January 2018, in what has since become an offseason tradition, Rebekah organized a Sunday brunch at Preux and Proper in Los Angeles and invited anyone within the Dodgers Twitter group to join. As fate would have it, Jorge (aka @TRUTHorDINGERS on Twitter) had seen the invite, and though he and Rebekah didn’t know each other prior to this day, he showed up.

“I was attracted to him almost immediately. We then followed each other on Twitter and began interacting.”

And if you need someone to blame, it's @DavidYoungTBLA. He invited Dingers to the brunch.

— Mrs. Dingers (@DodgerFoodie) June 21, 2020

Jorge always considered himself a devoted Dodgers fan, but before he met his future fiancee, had never traveled to an away stadium to see them play.

“(I have been a fan for) as long as I can remember”, he recalled. “I vaguely remember Fernandomania. We always listened to games with [Jaime] Jarrin on the radio, but [Vin] Scully on the TV. My favorite team memories would be Muncy’s walk off in the 18th inning, and the ’88 World Series. I watched it with my family.”

The couple has a funny story about what would prove to be their memorable first game together at Dodger Stadium, as told by Rebekah: “Our first game together was the ‘Poop Game’ vs the Angels (Freeway Series 2018). We were on Loge, right above the dugout. We got there kinda early, so we were able to see players warm up. I had brought two of my girlfriends, so of course we were admiring the players, and J brought up Chris Taylor’s butt. In fact, he called it a “bandonkadonk”. Honestly, at that moment I pretty much knew he was the one.

“Then, the pipe burst on the field (and it wasn’t just water). Since we were right over it, we could see everything, and we were sad when the game was called in the 7th, especially since I wanted to keep hanging out with him. But we were making every poop pun imaginable, and yet again, I was thinking we were quite a duo. On the drive home, my friend said, ‘He was staring at you the whole time.’ I hadn’t noticed, but when she told me, I felt the butterflies.

I am happier than ever and have finally found the one I always heard people talk about”.

Jorge tells me that he would never have been on Twitter at all if it hadn’t been for the Dodgers.

“I followed different Dodger writers online, so I ended up on Twitter because of people like (Jon) Weisman, (Mike) Petriello, (Eric) Stephen, and their blogs. Stacie Wheeler (of Dodgers Digest) was one of the bloggers whose stuff I read, and we have since gotten to know her, and hung out at Spring Training. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without the Dodgers. It’s hardcore following them. They started getting fun when Ethier and & Kemp were called up, especially Kemp’s problems with Jeff Kent.”

Since early in the 2018 season, the couple has become the “Forrest Gump duo” of the Dodgers, there at all the big moments, meeting players and coaches, getting to know members of the broadcast team through social media and in person. They also received a very genuine and endearing congratulations recently from someone we all consider part of the Dodgers family:

Congratulations!
The best thing on Twitter for me is hearing stories like this! Happy wife happy life!

— Orel Hershiser (@OrelHershiser) June 22, 2020

They’ve already had many adventures together as a couple, most involving baseball and the Dodgers. Last season, along with purchasing a 20-game package together and enjoying all of the pre-game Dodger Stadium fun, they traveled to San Diego, Anaheim, Colorado, Boston, and Philadelphia to see their team play, with Jorge present when the Dodgers clinched the NL West in Baltimore.

“Traveling has brought us lots of memories, including bumping into Alanna [Rizzo] at brunch in Colorado. The year before, I went to Seattle and talked to Joe Davis for a very long time. Of course, I am one of the owners of the Rich Hill Death Jersey. I went to the Social Media night (where he was the featured guest) and told him all about it.

For Rebekah, lifelong Andre Ethier devotee, one moment stands out above all others: “But for me, when I went to batting practice in 2017, being on the field was magical, when I was able to talk to Andre Ethier for quite a while. We discussed our favorite restaurants and chefs (and did I mention, he’s easy on the eyes). In Arizona he was at batting practice and I was freaking out… Jorge just put his arm around me and let me have the meltdown. Another reason I love him.

“(This past February), we went to pitchers and catchers in Arizona. We went to the backfields and it was surreal. Players were everywhere…we got so many autographs and pics. My faves are with [David] Price and [Brusdar] Graterol.”

For Rebekah, friendships formed initially through Dodgers Twitter have extended well beyond a shared love of the team, and will continue to as we live our separate lives away from the field. “There are so many of the fam that I know that I can talk to when I’m sad. There really isn’t any judgment. In fact, when I brought up a very tough time in my life so many of the fam were there for me. I know these people will be in my life forever. We’ve been there for each other in good and bad…and I cannot wait to see them at the stadium (whenever that is).

“I honestly don’t know what my life would be like without my Dodger Family. I have met so many friends through it, including you. Andy (@andylanechapman) is doing the flowers for the wedding. (The fam is) a major part of the fun at the stadium. I mean Boston (Dodgers/Red Sox series at Fenway Park in July 2019) was a frickin blast. The Dodger brunches are so fun. We now have Dodger Fam Zoom parties. And of course, I’m inviting a bunch of them to the wedding.”

If good things really do come to those who wait, let’s hope this also means that along with enjoying their engagement over the next 12 months, Rebekah and Jorge will also have a World Series win for their team to celebrate with their fellow Dodgers fans this coming October. The wedding is planned for June 2021, with a good time sure to be had by all as we help them celebrate their new life together.

“The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you that you love, well, that’s just fabulous.” – final line of Sex and The City

…and if you can find someone to love the team that you also happen to love with all of your heart, well that’s pretty fabulous too.

Congratulations, Rebekah and Jorge, from all of us at Dodgers Nation – truly a perfect match made in Blue Heaven.