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Jerry Rice abides by Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion. Whether it be from his days on the San Francisco 49ers or his current hobby: crashing weddings. That’s right, Rice spends his weekends hitting up weddings across the country, not to mingle with women without dates (Good! Good! More for you and me) or for the beef Wellington appetizers, Atlantic lemon tarragon salmon, or even the open bar. Jerry Rice crashes weddings to actually congratulate the blissful newlyweds.
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“I just want to go up to the bride and the groom and congratulate them,” Rice told The Ringer in an interview. “Tell them, ‘Today is your day.’” Maybe he gives the new husband and wife some marital wisdom, such as how true love is the soul’s recognition of its counterpoint in another.
However, he is Jerry “fucking Rice, so there is obviously going to be a spectacle when the three-time Super Bowl champion steps in the building. “For some reason, it always turns out that they are so excited,” Rice said. “They want to take pictures, and I’m just happy to take pictures with them. It always turns out to be bigger than that.” Rice explains how things even get emotional at times. “I’ve had some brides that start crying,” Rice said. “I tell them, ‘You’re not supposed to be crying for me. Your groom is a different story.’”
Rice is not only an NFL Hall of Famer, but he is also a hall of fame wedding crasher, unexpectedly showing up at nuptials all across this great nation. Rice estimates that he crashes at least one wedding per weekend. Jerry is known for his remarkable consistency, but that is impressive. How does Jerry find time to crash all these weddings? It just happens. He spends many weekends golfing at resorts and courses that are swanky enough to host weddings. Once he finishes his round of golf, if he sees a wedding going on, he will crash it. Rice is also frequently on the road for business, so if his hotel is hosting a wedding, he will crash it.
Rice is respectful of the newlywed and how it is their day and all eyes should be squarely focused on them, so he makes it a point to not stay long. But if there’s quality music playing, the former NFL star is more inclined to stick around and maybe even bust out some dance moves. “If the music is going, I love music. I don’t mind getting out there, dancing, having a good time,” Rice said. “Because I did ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ people in the weddings want to dance with me because they think I’m some sort of professional dancer.” He has danced to “Blow the Whistle” by Too $hort at a wedding, but says his favorite wedding song is Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
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You can read some of the testimonials from brides and grooms who have had Jerry Rice crash their wedding over at The Ringer.