Theo Von reveals Diego Pavia promised him date with his mom if Vanderbilt beat South Carolina
By David Wasson
Published:
Diego Pavia is many things. SEC quarterback. Alabama vanquisher. Champion of athlete rights vs. the NCAA.
And now, matchmaker?
The Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback apparently made a rather unusual promise to podcaster/comedian Theo Von: that Von could score a date with Pavia’s mom if the Commodores knocked off No. 11 South Carolina on Saturday in Columbia.
SEC Network sideline reporter Cole Cubelic worked all the angles during Vanderbilt’s 31-7 victory, sidling up next to the popular 45-year-old podcaster and comedian to confirm on camera what Von had told him.
“Yes. That’s true. She is a nurse, and my goal that I’d like to marry a nurse one day, so that’s why [Pavia] was thinking about that,” Von said. “I’d like to be his friend, not end up being like his stepdad, you know? So we will see what happens.”
Mercifully, the third quarter came to a close at that point to where Cubelic couldn’t do an even deeper dive into the details of said promise.
The 45-year-old Von, whose full name is Theodor Capitani von Kurnatowski III, has never been married. Detail’s about Pavia’s mom, Antoinette Padilla, are murkier. But Pavia has credited Padilla as his biggest supporter, instilling in him a “winning mentality” and once noting that she attended “98 percent” of his games, making her a constant presence in his career.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
