I will be taking the proverbial plunge this weekend.

I enjoyed my years as a bachelor, but when you meet “the one,” it’s time to begin sharing with her all that life has to offer, good and bad.

Sports have played a role in my fiancee and I forming a bond. Obviously, a relationship requires much more than simply rooting for the same team, but it doesn’t hurt when both people have a common interest to pass the time.

First, you have to understand that Beth and I have exact opposite work schedules. When I get home at night, well past midnight, she is snoozing away. By the time I get up mid-morning, she is on the clock as a medical assistant. So, when we get to spend time together on weekends, it is essential that we can enjoy the same things.

Beth grew up outside of Clarion and rooted for the Steelers and Pirates as a kid, just like I did.

When I tell her a story of seeing Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla or Andy Van Slyke play at Three Rivers Stadium, she doesn’t have a blank stare on her face. She knows who I am talking about and often has a story in return.

Though she is a fan of several sports teams, Beth bleeds Penn State blue and white and loves the football team from Happy Valley.

My dad taught me to hate the Nittany Lions from an early age and I became a Pitt fan.

But over the years, my disdain for Penn State has mellowed and I’ve actually found myself rooting for the Lions over the last few years, depending on who they were playing.

Now, how will we handle things when Pitt plays Penn State in 2016? I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Beth and I are not on the same page with everything. We both have interests that seem to bore the other.

I’m a huge JFK assassination buff. I recently watched the same documentary on DVD four times in one week. Luckily for Beth, it was while she was at work. Otherwise, her eyes would have been rolling like barrels.

But for us, sports are a common thread that we can always fall back on.

There is one night in particular in which I was very impressed with Beth’s dedication as a fan.

In July 2011, the Pirates played the Atlanta Braves in a 19-inning game. It was Beth, not I, who stayed up for the duration of the game, which ended in Atlanta’s favor on a horrible call at home plate.

She also suggested we take in a minor league baseball game on our upcoming honeymoon in Portland, Maine. I’m thinking, “Sure, that’s fine with me!”

How many brides would voluntarily spend part of their honeymoon at a ballpark, eating hot dogs instead of lobster?

I’m sure there’s a few out there. I am just fortunate to be marrying one of them.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.