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Sports · Posted January 29th, 2016
Exy Fans Think Two of the Biggest (miniature) Players Are Dating, Here are 10 Reasons That They Might Be Right
The Exy world is known for its eclectic teams, mafia scandals, and dedicated fanbase, but this latest fan theory might be their most chaotic yet.
By Emma Chandrikar
Buzzfeed staff
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Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard have played together since college and have quickly become two of the most successful and most controversial professional athletes of all time, but fans think there’s something more between these pint-sized athletes than just being co-workers. Fans have long speculated that Josten and Minyard were romantically involved, but rumors have escalated over the past few years with the two players joining the Denver Daredevils back-to-back and being recruited to the US Court this past season.
Here are 10 reasons why (and why not) fans think the iconic players are in a relationship:
1.
THE WHY: Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten played for the Palmetto State Foxes in college from 2006 to 2010. Josten’s freshman year and Minyard’s sophomore season (2006 - 2007) was marked with scandal, both with Minyard’s twin brother being charged with murder after defending Andrew in an alleged assault and with Josten’s kidnapping by his father revealed to be a mafia boss known as the Butcher of Baltimore (crazy, I know).
There’s not a ton of information about Minyard and Josten or how they got along at Palmetto (we’ll get to that later), but Minyard famously defended Josten from an attempted assault by the late Riko Moriyama after the Foxes beat the long-reigning champions, the Edgar Allen Ravens in 2007.
Some people alleged that Minyard breaking Moriyama’s arm was the reason behind Moriyama’s subsequent suicide, but many commentators and even Josten himself defended Minyard, stating, “Riko didn’t know how to lose. He would have taken me down with him if Andrew hadn’t intervened.”
(photo: screencap of Neil Josten leaning into an interview microphone [Source: ESPN, 2007])
THE WHY NOT: Other fans argue that the Foxes are a team notorious for finishing fights on each others’ behalf. Minyard defending Josten was nothing out of the ordinary for the Foxes, especially during the particularly violent 2006 - 2007 season.
2.
THE WHY: Andrew Minyard refused to join the US Court until the same year that Neil Josten joined. Minyard famously rejected an offer from the US Court in 2013. Though he never gave a reason for the rejection, exy fans know that despite being lauded as the best goalkeeper in the world, Minyard seems to have minimal interest and sometimes disdain for the sport. Many assumed that Minyard rejected Court out of disinterest, but he fascinatingly accepted Court’s most recent bid for his talents in the same year that Court offered Neil a spot.
THE WHY NOT: There are multiple reasons that go into an athlete’s decision to join a team, especially one with such high stakes as the national team. There’s no evidence that Minyard joined Court because Josten joined, and even then that doesn’t mean they’re dating.
3.
THE WHY: They wear matching armbands…enough said.
(photo: Andrew Minyard exiting the Denver Daredevils’ stadium wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, black armbands spanning from wrist to elbow are visible on his arms. [Source: People magazine, 2015])
(photo: Neil Josten wearing his Philadelphia Bells’ jersey sitting at a table during a press conference, black armbands spanning from wrist to elbow are visible on his arms. [Source: ESPN, 2011])
THE WHY NOT: Actually there might be no heterosexual explanation for this. Or maybe it’s just a really intense friendship bracelet.
4.
THE WHY: A Palmetto State student recently posted on their tumblr account about visiting the Foxhole Court with their sports management class. The student noted several photos in the court’s common room of the past several years of players, seemingly taken by the players themselves. Former captain Dan Wilds (now Boyd-Wilds) spoke extensively in interviews about the “photo wall” in the Foxhole Court that she created for team bonding. Several of the photos that this student snuck photographs of contain Josten and Minyard, likely from their tenure at PSU.
(photo: Minyard and Josten sitting on the roof, legs dangling off the edge as Minyard passed a cigarette to Josten. [Source: foxesfan99.tumblr.com])
Don’t smoke, kids.
(photo: Josten, his arm casually thrown over Minyard’s shoulder in the booth of a restaurant, with the word ‘Sweetie’s’ scribbled below it. [Source: foxesfan99.tumblr.com])
Was that bowl for ice cream? We may never know.
(photo: Minyard and Josten standing in matching coats, staring at each other with maybe 6 inches between them [Source: foxesfan99.tumblr.com]).
Although it could just be a photo of two players caught off-guard, it definitely raises eyebrows when you notice their proximity and the matching coats.
THE WHY NOT: They could just be friends. Nothing here suggests otherwise (except that coat photograph, I have no explanation for that one).
5.
THE WHY: Orange cat hair has increasingly been seen on Minyard’s famous black wardrobe. As many fans know, Minyard has a cat but it is a tortoise shell. There is no information on him adopting another feline or anyone he knows having an orange cat, Except, Josten has an orange cat, one that his friends often say is his mini-me in both the way it looks and acts. Could this be the reason for the addition of cat hair to MInyard’s outfits as of late?
(photo: Minyard walking out of a grocery store in a black hoodie, orange cat hair stuck to the fabric. [Source: DailyMail, 2013])
THE WHY NOT: MInyard and Josten are teammates. Maybe they allow their cats to hang out, cat play dates if you will. I don’t know, I lack many explanations for this one.
6.
THE WHY: Fans have recently found photos on both player’s Instagrams that have similar backgrounds. What is that background? A grey marble countertop and black cabinets, which many Foxes have tagged as being Minyard’s apartment in Denver.
(photo: photo of the Foxes piled behind a kitchen island and Andrew Minyard standing in the middle, looking unamused next to his twin with a birthday cake (sans candles) [Source: @draaronminyard on Instagram, 2014})
(photo: Neil Josten, scrubbing at his face, half asleep with a sliver of the gray countertop and black cabinets behind him. [Source: @blondeisbetter (Allison Reynolds) post on Josten’s birthday, 2012]).
THE WHY NOT: The Foxes clearly still hang out frequently, proven by the copious amounts of photos they have posted over the years. It would not be a huge stretch if the pictures of Josten were taken in Minyard’s apartment for no other reason than he was there with the other Foxes.
7.
THE WHY: Josten can be seen in the background of Dan Boyd-Wilds’ Christmas Instagram post possibly wearing an Andrew Minyard jersey. Fans argue that the red color and blurry white lettering matches the Savannah Panthers’ colors, the team that Minyard played on that year.
(photo: Dan Boyd-Wilds, Renee Walker, and Allison Reynolds in front of a Christmas tree. Boyd-Wilds has her arm around Walker’s shoulders and Reynolds is holding a glass of champagne. All three women are laughing. A man with red hair stands in the background reaching up to a kitchen cabinet wearing a red shirt. [Source: @wildestcaptain on Instagram, 2011])
THE WHY NOT: The red shirt Josten is wearing in the photo cannot reliably be identified as a Minyard jersey. Wearing a red sweater to a Christmas party is frankly not that groundbreaking.
8.
THE WHY: Josten having a key to Minyard’s famous black Maserati (yes, the same one he mysteriously purchased his sophomore year in college in all cash). The Foxes have constantly mentioned how much Minyard cares about his vehicle, with cousin and teammate Nicky Hemmick being quoted saying, “Andrew would rather give up ice cream than that car. He won’t even let me drive it, and I used to drive his old GT all the time,” on his MySpace account.
(photo: a zoomed-in screenshot of Josten’s key ring with the sleek Maserati key circled by a fan [Source: www.josyardisreal.blogspot.com])
(photo: a screenshot of MySpace update by Nicky Hemmick {Source: @rainbowhemmick on MySpace])
THE WHY NOT: It could be that this is not a key to Minyard’s car. It could simply be wishful thinking on many fans’ parts. The key could be to Josten’s own vehicle, although, to this day, we are not sure what car in the Daredevils lot is his (take that as you will).
9.
THE WHY: Katelyn Minyard (the wife of Andrew’s twin, Aaron) usually has her Instagram on private, but for a period of a few hours this past week, it was briefly public. Fans noticed a photo of Josten with Katelyn and Aaron’s two-year-old daughter. I won’t post the photo here for privacy reasons, but I promise it was a very cute picture of Neil and the blonde toddler sitting on a carpeted floor, facing each other with their chins in their hands. The caption was: “facing down Uncle Neil.”
Though the photo was only public for a few hours before Dr. Minyard once again made her instagram private and asked fans to delete any screenshots that they may have taken, it did briefly break the internet both in cuteness and because of “Uncle Neil.” The fact that Andrew Minyard’s nieces refer to Josten as an uncle may indicate that they are more than simply teammates.
THE WHY NOT: Some fans argue that all of the former Foxes’ children seem to call each other “aunt” and “uncle,” with Matt Boyd-Wilds famously stating in a post-game interview: “The kids love their Uncle Neil. They honestly get more excited to see him play than me.”
10.
THE WHY: A photograph from a graduation photo dump posted (and immediately deleted) by Robin Cross in 2014. The photograph seems to be from 2009 or 2010 (aka when Minyard and Josten were still on the Palmetto Foxes). People have been speculating for the past two years that the framed picture of two people kissing behind Cross is of Minyard and Josten. This would make logical sense as Cross was rumored to room with the Minyard twins, Nicky Hemmick, and Josten her freshman year, followed by rooming with just Josten her sophomore year.
(photo: a blurry screenshot of Cross, circa 2009-2010, smiling with her hands on her hips in what can be assumed to be her dorm room. Behind her, a picture frame sits on a desk, with two people kissing, one with red hair. [Source: foxesphotos.tumblr.com]).
THE WHY NOT: It is not clear who these people are and no firm proof has been found to bring this rumor to light. Others have said the photo is not of Minyard and Josten but rather of Nicky Hemmick and now-husband Erik Klose. Regardless, speculation has not led to a factual answer and that should be taken into consideration. Unofficially, however, I believe it is them in my heart.
Addendum August 17th, 2016: Josten and Minyard made international news this week after they shared a kiss following Team USA’s victory over Japan to win the Exy gold medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. Oh, how I love being right!
(photo: Josten and Minyard on the Court. Josten has his arms around Minyard’s shoulders and his legs around Minyard’s waist. They are kissing. [source: olympics.com])