Maryland Love Connection: Matt and Kara Furstenburg

Matt and Kara Furstenburg’s love story began at the now-closed Santa Fe Cafe in College Park in December of 2009—though their parents were initially under a different impression. 

“We told them at the time that we first met at a football gathering, but it was actually the bar,” Kara said with a laugh.

Kara, a member of the swim team, was finishing up her first semester at Maryland when she was introduced to Matt, a redshirt sophomore tight end, at the bar. The two New Jersey natives formed an instant connection.

“Matt was the first person where, right off the bat of meeting him, I felt super comfortable,” Kara said. “It was like I had known him for a long time. That’s typically very unlike me, to be that comfortable with someone from the first moment I meet them, but that’s how it was with us.”

The two continued to grow closer and started officially dating in April 2010, with a first date featuring one of America’s favorite pastimes: unlimited breadsticks at Olive Garden. 

“That became our go-to spot: the Olive Garden in College Park,” Kara recalled. “We loved the unlimited breadsticks and the soup and salad. A whole lot of our dates took place at that Olive Garden.”

Both Terps quickly realized that their relationship was unlike anything they had experienced.

“(Kara) was the first girl I dated that I couldn’t shake from thinking about,” Matt said. “I remember one day at football practice I just kept thinking about her and I was like, ‘What are you doing, man? Focus.’”

The couple dated for the rest of their time in College Park, and Kara made it to almost all of Matt’s home games and even a few away ones. Unfortunately, matt had more conflicts with the football travel schedule but could still make a few of Kara’s swim meets before the program was disbanded her senior year.

Matt finished school in the fall of 2012 and started training for the NFL. Fortunately, he got picked up by the Baltimore Ravens. So he stayed in the area for the year that he was a member of the organization as Kara finished her final semester at Maryland. 

Once Kara graduated, she also stayed local, working with an education technology company based in Lanham, MD, called 2U, which she had interned with previously.  

“It was really nice to stay in Maryland and stay with Kara,” Matt said. “Neither one of us had to move away and do long distance or anything. We were just able to continue to grow our relationship.”

Once his football career came to a close in May of 2014, Matt turned his attention full-time to a business venture he had started in college—producing football gloves that didn’t experience the rapid decline in tackiness and grip. Today, Grip Boost football gloves are among the best of their kind, with a top-tier client list featuring guys like Tyreek Hill.

As Matt worked to boost his company, the couple was also thinking about starting the next chapter of their lives together. 

Kara was admittedly less than subtle about her aspirations to get married quickly. 

“I knew she wanted to get married because she was always talking about it,” Matt laughed.

The couple was in Fort Lauderdale, FL, staying at Kara’s parents’ condo when the proposal happened in 2014.

Matt told Kara he had invited former Terp football star AJ Francis, who was in Miami playing for the Dolphins then, and his significant other over to catch up and have drinks. Shortly after they arrived, Matt asked AJ to take a picture of him and Kara by the water, but, in reality, AJ was videoing while Matt dropped to one knee and asked for Kara’s hand in marriage. 

Kara was especially shocked because she had once again expressed her desire to get married at dinner just a few hours beforehand. That statement was met with Matt playing it off like it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, saying he hadn’t even asked her father yet. Little did a partially dejected Kara know that Matt had the ring with him and would propose that night.

Kara, of course, said yes instantly, and the two began wedding planning—but not before taking their engagement photos on the Maryland football field.

The two tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony on a waterfront estate outside of Philadelphia, a perfect 45 minutes from Matt and Kara’s different hometowns in New Jersey.

“Outside of the birth of our two sons, it was the best day ever,” Kara said of the wedding.

Plenty of former Maryland football players and swimmers were in attendance as the Fursternburgs were one of several stops on the Maryland student-athlete wedding tour that took place during that span. 

“During those two to three years, it was just Terp weddings back-to-back-to-back from either my teammates or Matt’s and we just had so much fun with it all,” Kara said.

Shortly before the pandemic, the couple permanently moved to Parkland, FL. Through the move down south, Matt remains at the helm of Grip Boost while Kara, now a Director of Sales and Customer Success, still works at 2U. 

Just before the move, the Furstenburg family grew as they welcomed their first son, Logan, into the world. A few years later, Landon came along, and the Furstenburgs could not be happier.

Four-year-old Logan constantly makes his parents laugh with his serious tone and adult-like personality at such a young age. On the other side, at just one-year-old, Landon is the complete opposite of his brother, operating with no fear like a “walking tornado.” 

“They’re the best things we could ever ask for,” Kara said. “They made our marriage so much better, just by being able to parent them together.”

The remarkable life that the couple has together today can be traced back to College Park, and, for that, the Furstenburgs are forever grateful. 

“The University of Maryland was a great place to meet someone,” Matt said. “It was a great atmosphere and just an awesome place to meet your future spouse.”

“We had the time of our lives at Maryland,” Kara added. “I wouldn’t trade our current life for anything, but we had the best time ever while we were there.”