BCS Tickets for a lucky Airman

  • Published
  • By 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Sometimes you can rely on the kindness of strangers. A Barksdale Airman will be cheering on his favorite team at the Bowl Championship Series National Championship thanks to an anonymous Ohio State University fan who gave up her two tickets to the biggest game in college football. 

Senior Master Sgt. Mark Sheets, 2d Maintenance Group, will root on his Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday at the Superdome in New Orleans. 

The generous gesture started with an e-mail to the 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs Office that read "I have a pair of tickets to the OSU/LSU Championship football game which I would like to give to an Airman stationed at Barksdale. I am hoping to find a displaced Buckeye. Can you help me find a recipient?" 

"I was stunned and skeptical that someone would give up two tickets to the championship," said 1st Lt. Frank Hartnett, deputy chief of public affairs. "Those tickets could easily go for thousands of dollars on the Internet." 

Lieutenant Hartnett checked to see if this deal was too good to be true. 

"The donor sent the e-mail through her work address, so I followed it up with a phone call," he said. "After speaking with her on the phone and talking about her family ties to the military, it was clear that she wanted to thank an Airman by giving her tickets." 

The anonymous donor entered a lottery to buy the tickets to the game. When her name came up she bought the tickets, but realized that traveling to New Orleans wasn't practical. 

"I thought how surprised and pleased someone might be to get the tickets as a gift," said the donor. 

It was also a family connection to the military that guided her decision. 

"I am the granddaughter, daughter and sister of career military men. I still tear up any time I hear the Air Force hymn - 'Lord, guard and guide the men who fly,'" she said. 

Sergeant Sheets is the lucky recipient of the tickets to the game and is amazed by the kindness of a person he has never met. 

"It's wonderful and thoughtful that someone is thanking military personnel this way. I've been following Buckeye Football since childhood and this is a once-in-a-lifetime game for me." 

The donor admits fellow Ohio State fans have a hard time understanding why she would pass on the biggest game of the year. 

"The die-hard Buckeye fans think we are crazy for not going to the game, but everyone we have told also liked the idea of honoring a service member with something tangible and fun. This is truly one very small gesture that benefits just one individual, but it represents what a lot of us would like to express - gratitude."