Hall of Famer Troy Aikman has spent his life surrounded by elite stardom, crossing paths with some of the biggest names on the planet. Unsurprisingly, standard celebrity status rarely dazzles him anymore. Yet, even an NFL legend has a bucket list, and standing at the top of his is a dream meeting with Sylvester Stallone, the cinematic mastermind behind Rocky, Rambo, and The Expendables.

So when Stallone announced that his eldest daughter, Sophia, got engaged to her boyfriend, Michael Sheehan, Aikman chimed in with his wishes for the Stallone family.

“Congratulations, Sophia!❤️,” Aikman commented on Stallone’s Instagram post. “And you too, champ🥊.”

On Friday, Sophia revealed the happy news on her Instagram, sharing pictures from Michael’s proposal. The two posed for the camera with Sophia flaunting the diamond on her finger.

Congratulations poured in for the couple from across the globe. But among the flood of well-wishes from friends and family, one was Troy Aikman. The NFL Hall of Famer has been a Stallone fan since childhood.

“First of all, because of the character Rocky and the impact that it had on my life when I was a 10-12-year-old aspiring athlete. It really was a movie that just hit me right to the core and a character that inspired me to do whatever it took in order to achieve my dreams. Then when I learned his story and that he could have sold the film but didn’t because he wanted to be the lead actor, I thought that it said a lot about him and what he’s all about. I mean, he is that character. He’s lived that. So I have great admiration for him, and he definitely would be someone that I’d want to meet,” Aikman told The Athletic in 2022.

Although the two have not met yet, Aikman does make sure to show his love for the Rocky creator.

Coming back to the dreamy proposal, the special moment unfolded right alongside the Stallone family. Stallone shared photos celebrating with Sophia, who wore the same glittering off-white dress seen in her engagement post.

“We are so ecstatic about the engagement of our daughter Sophia to Michael!” Stallone captioned the post.

Stallone has five kids from his three marriages. He shares two sons with his first wife, Sasha Czack, and three daughters with model Jennifer Flavin. And while he’s thrilled today, he wasn’t always so ecstatic about his daughters dating.

When Sophia and her sister Sistine made an appearance on Today in 2023, Sophia revealed that they were single, and Stallone came up with the most Rambo-like reply ever.

“I’m hoping they turn out to be spinsters. I’m working on that,” he said.

The two sisters talked about how their dad’s tough-guy action hero image ends up running off potential dates. “He’s just so scary,” Sistine admitted back then. But Sophia owned up to the fact that Stallone’s gut feelings are always spot on.

Stallone, along with Flavin and his daughters, starred in The Family Stallone reality series on Paramount+. On the show, Sophia opened up about feeling the pressure to get married and settle down.

The details are still pretty hush-hush about when the two actually started dating. But Michael made sure the big moment hit just right by timing the proposal to coincide with Sophia’s 30th birthday.