Ponder, Steele Married: NFL QB And ESPN Reporter Tie The Knot
Christian Ponder and Samantha Steele have officially gotten married.
The Minnesota Vikings quarterback met the ESPN reporter earlier this year on the set of ESPN's "College Gameday," where Steele works. The two got engaged earlier this month, according to Yahoo! Sports.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ponder and Steele wanted to avoid great media coverage of their impending nuptials. So, the couple drove to Wisconsin and eloped without any friends or family members present.
"We tried to keep the attention away from us and went over to Wisconsin and had it done," Ponder told reporters. "So it was quick but it was good."
However, news of the Ponder-Steele marriage leaked to the public on Wednesday, when the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram posted a story confirming the wedding.
Steele quickly received responses to her marriage on her Twitter feed, though it seems not all of them were positive.
"Twitter is so tricky," the reporter tweeted on Wednesday. "Who knew that "she's pregnant" & "they'll be divorced soon" are just the 2012 version of "congrats"! Thx guys! :)"
"All reports of a babybump are false and offensive," she wrote in a separate tweet. "All reports of a foodbump are true and offensive :)"
Ponder insisted to the Times that the marriage "wasn't a distraction." He also stated that he and Steele got married so quickly because they wanted the wedding to take place before the holidays.
Hopefully for Ponder's sake, this newfound marriage will not serve as too much of a distraction late in the NFL season. The quarterback's Vikings sit at 8-6 on the season and currently hold the sixth seed in the NFC playoff race. However, Minnesota has two key games coming up against the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.
For the season, Ponder is completing 63 percent of his passes and has thrown 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.