Barksdale airman invites Tebow to Military Ball - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Barksdale airman invites Tebow to Military Ball

An airman is hoping the viral support of hundreds of thousands of viewers can convince NFL sensation Tim Tebow to be her date for a military ball this spring.

On Feb. 5, Senior Airman Jamie Walden enlisted the help of friends and co-workers at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to make a video to convince the Denver Broncos quarterback to come with her to a military ball in April in Shreveport, La. Within a couple of weeks, the video has almost 200,000 hits and attention from around the country has focused on the aviation resource management airman.

“It’s been hectic,” Walden said.

The idea came from a committee meeting to plan the ball, and follows the success of two Marines who invited actors Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis to Marine Corps balls last autumn. The video features Walden and friends urging Tebow to come, with several people, including Walden’s mom, looking to the camera and saying, “Say yes, Tim.”

“We wanted Tim to come out to Barksdale anyway,” said Walden, who enlisted in the Air Force in 2010. “We want to show him the pride we have here.”

Walden, a native of San Antonio who said she isn’t a massive football fan, said she wanted to invite Tebow because of what he does off the field — his sense of service and putting others before himself. He mirrors the Air Force’s core values, she said.

Since the video was posted, Walden said that everyone in the Barksdale community has been supportive. Public affairs officials at the base got word that Tebow has seen it, but as of Thursday, the quarterback has not given word if he will go.