Nothing can be more special than love that has bloomed from friendship. It seems that supermodel Kate Upton and her boyfriend Justin Verlander, baseball pitcher of the Detroit Tigers, wants to show the world that their relationship is getting more special because it is established on a strong friendship.
On February 19, Justin Verlander celebrated his 33rd birthday and he got a birthday greeting from his supermodel girlfriend Kate Upton with a caption that hardly indicates romantic intonation but very heartfelt nonetheless.
Kate posted on Instagram a picture of herself and Justin after a dinner perhaps and captioned it by dedicating it to her best friend who makes her smile and laugh every day. She also wished for another amazing year for the two of them before ending it with a heartfelt birthday greeting, notes Fox Sports.
Although he personally feels that he did not do well during the past baseball season, baseball aficionados all think that Verlander came off an impressive finish to the 2015 season with a 2.27 ERA in his final 14 starts. The Detroit Tigers pitcher is expected to make his eighth Opening Day start in April when Major League Baseball begins.
The NASCAR driver that is as popular as Kate Upton
Celebrity DBI, powered by Repucom, an international index that evaluates celebrities and their popularities, has recently measured the popularities of NASCAR drivers vis-à-vis the world’s most popular celebrities and athletes.
The index measures eight attributes including awareness, appeal, aspiration, breakthrough, endorsement, influence, trendsetter, and trust.
A total of five NASCAR drivers made it to the list of Top 100 most famous athletes, the first of which was Dale Earnhard Jr., who ranked 10th. His level of popularity is equivalent to rapper Kanye West, singer Nick Jonas, and Eli Manning, notes Fox Sports in another report.
Second on the list is Danica Patrick, who at the 11th spot is as popular as supermodel Kate Upton, actor James Franco, and U2 lead singer Bono.
Jimmie Johnson, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is at a distant third and is ranked 33rd, equating to the popularity of David Ortiz, Rob Gronkowski and Keith Olbermann.
Tony Stewart placed at 44th spot and is likened to the popularity of Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, actor Jason Sudeikis, and Larry Fitzgerald.
The fifth and final NASCAR driver to make it to the Top 100 popular athletes is Kurt Busch, who at 92nd spot, has the same level of popularity with Von Miller, Jason Aldean, and Brooklyn Decker.
Soft spot for children
One of the reasons why Kate Upton loves her boyfriend Justin Verlander is because of his soft spot for children.
Justin is probably looking forward to the time when he and Kate will have children in the future, but since they are not there yet, he might as well focus on supporting other causes for children.
Early last month, Justin Verlander supported the auction block of the Diamond Resorts as proceeds of the initiative would go to the Florida Hospital for Children. He posted on his Twitter account that there are plenty of cool stuff from himself in the auction and even put hashtags #bidonme and #itsforthekids to emphasize that it is for a good cause.
He included a photo of himself and a kid who seemed to have bought his No. 35 Detroit Tigers uniform.
Kate Upton obviously appreciated the gesture of her boyfriend on her Twitter account and retweeted it, then posting in jest that she thought that he was selling his stuff for their date. She then put two hashtags on her tweet including #bid and #imwinning, indicating that she is happy with what Justin is doing.
Meanwhile, the supermodel-turned-actress made it to the cover of the January 2016 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Singapore.