SuBBan in Love with hiS G.o.a.t. vaLentine vonn
‘best boyfriend in the world’ now ready to help girlfriend adjust to retired life
When it comes to comparisons, P.K. Subban isn’t going to make it easy for guys looking to impress their girlfriends on Valentine’s Day.
Subban’s girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn, returned to their Nashville home late Monday night after winning a bronze medal in the downhill event at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Are, Sweden on Sunday in the final race of her career. Vonn has now officially retired as a four-time overall World Cup champion and a gold-medal winner in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
When Vonn got home, Subban surprised her with a bunch of balloons that said “Officially Retired” and a cake in the shape of a goat, representing G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time).
“She loved the cake,” Subban said after the Predators practised Wednesday at the Centennial Sportsplex. “She’s still eating it.”
On their bed, Subban had placed another teddy-bear style goat with a ribbon around its neck. P.K. being P.K., of course he videotaped Vonn’s reaction and put it on social media.
“Best boyfriend in the world!!” Vonn responded on Twitter.
“I had the whole year pretty much to plan for it,” Subban said. “You knew at some point she was going to retire. I think she enjoyed it. Now I have to figure out what I’m going to do for Valentine’s Day. I do have something planned for that. I’m a planner, I guess you could say.”
When asked if he was going to make other guys look bad by comparison, Subban smiled and said: “I’m not trying to. But when I did my NBC show (The PK Project) and I was talking about Tim Tebow spending $700,000 on a ring, I think I might be a worse example to all these single guys.”
Whatever Valentine’s Day plans Subban has will be interrupted by the fact the Predators are playing the Canadiens Thursday at the Bridgestone Arena (8 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).
“I don’t think she minds when I work,” Subban said with another smile. “I think she understands that I have to work. But in terms of what she’s accomplished, what a career. She’s a special person for sure and definitely a generational athlete. You don’t see them come along very often. I think for her, just the way she’s handled everything — it’s been tough (with injuries), it hasn’t been easy for her — but I think she’s handled it pretty well and the way she went out was fantastic. Now she’s going to watch some Preds hockey and enjoy that.”
Subban, 29, first met Vonn, 34, a couple of years ago at the ESPY Awards, but they only started dating last spring and made their first public appearance together at last June’s CMT Music Awards in Nashville.
Was it love at first sight?
“I don’t know about that,” Subban said. “I think that I just thought she
She’s a special person for sure and definitely a generational athlete. You don’t see them come along very often.
was a great person. It was my first time at the ESPYs (when they met). She’s got plenty of ESPY Awards … I have none. So it wasn’t her first time being there. Actually, her sister was there as well and I think her sister kind of picked up that I had a crush on Lindsey. Nothing really happened at that moment because she was in a relationship. I couldn’t get her number, I couldn’t do anything. But then after she became single and over some period of time — I think it was like three or four months later — we ended up connecting again.”
Subban and Vonn seem like a great match. They both have outgoing personalities and are determined individuals who have already accomplished a lot in their lives and are now enjoying a new life together in Nashville.
“It’s great,” Subban said. “The people are awesome. First of all, (GM) David Poile and Lavy (coach Peter Laviolette) and the ownership group here, everybody, they’ve made me feel so comfortable here since I got here. And now, obviously, it’s not just me. It’s my family and my friends that come and now Lindsey. But everybody that comes to Nashville, they’ve always opened their hands to me and my family and my friends. This is a great place to play and that’s why guys want to play here.”
Subban is ready now to help Vonn adjust to retired life.
“She knew that it was probably going to be her last year of skiing, so I think that kind of helps,” Subban said.
“But the thing is with her, she’s obviously been very successful in the sport and has done really, really well with her sponsors. If I was her, I wouldn’t be worried about my second career. I think it’s going to happen organically for her in terms of what’s next. But for now, I continue to tell her just force yourself to kind of wind yourself down and relax and tape a deep breath and just relax.”
And wait for a Valentine’s Day surprise.