Sarah Velasquez is the self-described biggest Tim Hortons fan in North America.

And in 2008, Tim Hortons acknowledged her fandom: She was the winner of a contest that officially named her the biggest Tim Hortons fan in Central New York.

“It’s a way of life. Being Canadian, you have to like Tim Hortons,” said Velasquez, a 2009 alumna of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications graduate program.

Velasquez has lived near the Canadian border, in Buffalo, N.Y., for most of her life. While at Syracuse University, Velasquez entered the Central New York fan contest by writing an essay about her love for Tim Hortons.

She was awarded with a party and ceremony at the Newhouse school with Tim Hortons doughnuts, coffee, a gift card and a GPS that had all Tim Hortons locations programmed into it.

Velasquez said Tim Hortons is like a mix between Dunkin’ Donuts and Panera Bread. Her favorite menu items include coffee and Canadian maple doughnuts.

Five years after winning the contest, Velasquez is now the multimedia content coordinator for Buffalo.com, where she has her hand in photography, videography, social media and blogging.

Velasquez said the site has the “kind of the tone you might see on BuzzFeed or Gawker, mixed with a little bit of newsie-ness, too.”

This January, while searching the Internet for inspiration for a blog post with colleague Kathryn Przybyla, the social content coordinator at Buffalo.com, Velasquez came across a promotional YouTube interview of actor Ryan Gosling for his movie “Gangster Squad.”

In the video from Tribute.ca, Gosling told the interviewer he collected Burger King cups with Dick Tracy characters’ faces on them as a child. This sparked a discussion about “Gangster Squad” merchandise.

“Can we get a Tim’s mug for ‘Gangster Squad’ please?” Gosling asked the interviewer.

Velasquez said Gosling grew up in London, Ontario, which is not very far from Hamilton, Ontario — the founding city of Tim Hortons.

“I wrote a blog post thinking this could be kind of funny if I suggest Tim Hortons actually does this and makes this cup,” Velasquez said after seeing the video.

With some help from Przybyla to cut out a photograph of Gosling’s face, Velasquez constructed a Tim Hortons mug and posted a photograph alongside an explanation on Buffalo.com.

At most, Velasquez said she thought Tim Hortons might share her creation on their Facebook page. 

Instead, Tim Hortons contacted Velasquez, telling her they might be able to make something happen. After that, she didn’t doubt their dedication to the project.

Based on Velasquez’s creation, Tim Hortons made an actual mug with Gosling’s face from “Gangster Squad” on it. They sent one to Gosling and another to Velasquez. The first mug Velasquez received was broken, but Tim Hortons quickly replaced it. 

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton tweeted to Tim Hortons that he wanted a mug. Tim Hortons responded on Twitter: “Sorry Perez, the mug is one-of-a-kind, just like Ryan.”

The last Velasquez heard, Gosling’s management team received the mug and was going to give it to him as soon as possible. She said the management team loved it.

A big fan of the actor, Velasquez described her dream date with Gosling. She said it had to be at Tim Hortons, and she imagined they would drink their coffee, linking arms as if they were doing a champagne toast at a wedding.

She also pictured incorporating a powdered doughnut fight.

Said Velasquez: “I tell everybody I want him to take me on date to Tim Hortons. Yeah, he owes me, I made his dream come true.”

Published on February 4, 2013 at 10:41 pm

Contact Lizzie: echart@syr.edu