If you ever wanted proof South Sydney fans are among the most passionate in rugby league, you only needed to be standing outside Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Central Coast couple Kaylene Cormack and Michael Bekavac made the trek to the US to watch their beloved Bunnies feature in the season-opening double-header at Allegiant Stadium.
But before cheering on Souths, they made a quick dash to the chapel to get hitched.
Rather than rely on Elvis, who came with the wedding package, to walk Kaylene down the aisle, the beauty therapist surprised her husband-to-be by roping in Souths’ very own mascot, Reggie The Rabbit.
Reggie, or Charlie Gallico, who turns 80 in May, raced straight from the airport to the chapel.
Once Elvis found out about Reggie and South Sydney’s links to Hollywood heavyweight Russell Crowe, he posed for photos with Gallico afterwards in a back room.
Charlie Gallico, aka Reggie The Rabbit, with Kaylene Cormack and Michael Bekavac in Las Vegas.Credit: Sunny Brar/SSRFC
All the walking meant Gallico’s knee started to play up the following day. He was having his knee drained when contacted by this masthead on Friday.
“I didn’t know the lady from a bar of soap, but she was a mad Souths supporter, so was her husband,” Gallico said. “This is the first time I’ve been to Vegas. To walk a lady down the aisle, it was pretty special; it was an honour. It will be something they remember for the rest of their lives.
“I’ve got two daughters and have already walked them down the aisle. But I wasn’t wearing my Reggie suit.”
Cormack said of having her Reggie wish come true: “The plan was to get married in Vegas, and I thought, ‘Why not get the Bunny’. My husband didn’t know, and if you see the footage, he’s wiping away tears, but they are tears of laughter.
Sit this one out, Elvis: The Vegas wedding featuring Kaylene Cormack and Michael Bekavac with Reggie The Rabbit. Credit: Sunny Brar/SSRFC
“It looks like he was emotional because of me. But it was all for Reggie. Because I love my husband, I thought I’d do something crazy for him.”
Cormack and Bekavac, an IT worker born and raised in Mascot, have been long-time Souths supporters – Kaylene said she may have briefly flirted with following the New Zealand Warriors – actually met at a Bunnies game.
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