When the kiss cam landed on Jason Tabor and Emily DeSantis during the men’s basketball game at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, DeSantis leaned over to give her boyfriend a kiss.

But Tabor hesitated.

Instead of giving DeSantis, 36, a simple kiss, Tabor, 42, pulled out a ring from his pocket and proposed to her. Almost 30,000 people attended the game and witnessed the proposal, which was shown on the big screens across the Carrier Dome.

“I almost forgot to say yes because I was so shocked, and I graciously accepted the ring from him — apparently on the wrong hand,” said DeSantis, who was told by the people sitting next to her to switch the ring from her right hand to her left.

DeSantis, who is originally from Oswego, and Tabor, a Syracuse University alumnus who received his graduate degree in mathematics education in 1997, had their first date two years ago this February. The two now reside in Cooperstown, New York and occasionally drive up to SU to attend basketball and football games in the Carrier Dome.

“I was certainly out of my comfort zone, but that made it so much more special and fun and exciting,” DeSantis added.

Tabor said the proposal almost didn’t happen because they weren’t sure if they were going to attend the game. But when it was finalized, he called his friend Jay Makay, a freelance videographer who works with the Carrier Dome operations, to ask if anyone had ever proposed on the kiss cam.

Makay, who has been friends with DeSantis and Tabor for many years, passed along Tabor’s information to “the right people” who work at the Carrier Dome. They then made Tabor’s plan a reality.

“I proposed, she said yes and all of a sudden you can hear 30,000 people cheering for us,” Tabor said. “Even strangers were coming up to us and congratulating us. It just doesn’t seem real because you’re in front of so many people.”

When Makay found out that the proposal was happening, he immediately volunteered to shoot the moment. He said the Carrier Dome operations staff was able to organize things so he’d be running the camera. Before the game, Makay even scoped out the row where the couple would be sitting and planned where he would shoot Tabor’s proposal.

“Emily is one of my wife’s best friends, going back to seventh, eighth grade — even high school,” Makay said. “So just as a friend, it was a great experience to see the moment and be able to capture it at the same time. It was a win-win for me.”

DeSantis said she’s always nervous going to events at the Carrier Dome knowing Makay worked there on occasion. She said it’s not in her nature to be the center of attention.

“When we come up to games, I always tell Emily, ‘You know what, we’re going to get on the kiss cam and you’re going to have to kiss me,’” Tabor said. “The whole thing is kind of an ongoing joke for us.”

DeSantis and Tabor met during an aerobics class at their local gym — she was the instructor and he was taking the class. Tabor said a mutual friend who was in the class “put two and two together” and introduced them. They have been dating ever since.

The couple hasn’t started planning the wedding yet, but they are in no hurry to do so. DeSantis said all they’re looking for is to have a good time with their friends and family.

Said DeSantis: “My sister warned me, ‘You’re going to get asked a lot of questions,’ but we’re not in a rush. At some point we’ll make the wedding happen.”

Published on February 22, 2015 at 6:44 pm

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu