Decades before they'd become engaged, A-Rod cited J-Lo as his 'dream date' -- and yes, there are receipts

Today, we admire A-Rod and J-Lo from afar as two of the biggest pop culture stars in the country, each so famous they exist as shortened, hyphenated forms of their full names.

Back in 1998, 22-year-old Alex Rodriguez was the talk of baseball and a budding star on the Mariners. And ... even then, 21 years ago, he knew. He just knew.

If I'm Alex, I'd go around saying this every time the possibility struck my mind.

"Hey, babe, you remember when I told you about how I dreamed of us dating all those years ago? I knew we'd be great together."

Maybe he brought it up during his proposal. I hope he did, because it's pretty great.

No word yet if Alex also knows the winning lottery numbers too, but stay tuned.