How Rams long snapper Alex Ward and pro tennis player girlfriend Angela Kulikov support each other in their respective sports

Kulikov calls it an “extraordinary” position she and Ward are in as two people who get to sit there and say they made their childhood dreams come true, but also live through each other’s alternate dream as well.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit effectively serves as the minor leagues for pros in the sport. Once a player crack the Top 100, you move up to the major leagues – play a WTA schedule. Last year was Kulikov’s first year she had broken on to the WTA tour.

“So last year for me, that was my first time playing at all four Grand Slams,” Kulikov said, referring to the four major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open). “And it was fun that Alex kind of got to be a part of that. I remember being at Wimbledon, and for half of it, I FaceTimed him at Wimbledon and showed him the ground there. And luckily with the schedules, I was even able to be home and I was able to go to his first preseason game.”

Both are learning a lot about their respective sports – in different and surprising ways, too.

The morning after they all went golfing together, Kulikov went to Europe for another few weeks. When she returned, they went on a few more dates and were officially together by the time she went to the U.S. Open.

This happened to coincide with the second day of roster cuts for the Rams, which Ward was keenly aware of because his roommate, offensive lineman Sean Maginn, had gotten a phone call the morning before at 5:45 a.m. that head coach Sean McVay wanted to meet with him and to bring his iPad.

Kulikov said she had asked Ward about how they cut players, which Ward then told her about the 5:45 a.m. phone call.

“The next morning, I wake up to a phone call at 5:47 a.m., and immediately – I mean, I take the late bus to the facility. I woke up at like, 6:15,” Ward said. “So I wake up to this phone call, and I’m like, ‘No way. There’s no shot.’ Blurry, just grab my phone in a frenzy, my heart peaks immediately. I’m like, ‘I’m getting cut, oh my gosh.’

“I answer it, it’s a FaceTime from her, and she’s standing in the middle of center court at the U.S. Open. She goes, ‘Hey, didn’t think you were going to answer, but I just wanted to show you center court!'”

First, some important context: Kulikov was hitting on Arthur Ashe Stadium, a perk that the tour can do for the…