Air Force staff sergeant from Mount Prospect proposes to NFL cheerleader girlfriend on field
Public marriage proposals can be risky.
But Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Thompson wasn't worried. He expected his girlfriend, Washington NFL cheerleader Sarah Thompson, would accept the offer of marriage he made before Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. But he wanted to make it memorable.
"I was hoping the moment would be good enough for her. She was shocked. She started crying ... It surpassed expectations," said Brandon Thompson, 25, a 2011 graduate of Prospect High School who is not related to his now-fiancée who already shares his last name.
While Sarah's fellow cheerleaders jumped and cheered, Brandon dropped to one knee in the end zone, pulled out a ring box and popped the question.
Video of the pregame proposal made several news networks and was a social media hit.
"I had told my best friend more than a year ago if this were ever to happen, make sure I have my nails done," laughed Sarah Thompson, 24, whose future mother-in-law met that request.
The couple met 2½ years ago through an online dating app and bonded, in part, over their shared love of football, said Brandon, who joined the Air Force about 6½ years ago and was named Security Forces Airman of the Year in 2016.
He jokes that as an NFL cheerleader "(Sarah) has more deployments than I do," having traveled with the USO to Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan.
"She has an enormous amount of appreciation for what we do," Brandon said.
Brandon asked Sarah's parents for permission to marry her about a year ago, said his mom Andrea Biwer, of Mount Prospect, who's known about her son's intentions for about as long.
Biwer and Sarah's parents were on the field courtesy of the Washington NFL organization, whose representatives knew of Brandon's desire to propose during a Washington game and suggested he do it on Sunday, which was Military Appreciation Day at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
"He's such a spectacular young man," said Biwer, executive director of the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce. "Hardworking, happy-go-lucky, he's a friend to everybody."
Sarah "is his better half," says Biwer, who describes her future daughter-in-law, a former "America's Got Talent" competitor, as sweet, kind and giving, adding she "couldn't be happier with Sarah and her family."
"My son moved away seven years ago, and the fact he found a woman and her family who love him as much as we all do back home, it gives me a sense of peace and comfort to know he's taken care of when I'm not there," she said.
Brandon provided base security in Kuwait. He is currently stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland where he works as a military dog handler.
"I've always had a love for dogs," he said.
Since the proposal video went viral, the couple received multitudes of well-wishes, many over social media, from family, fellow soldiers and old friends. Among them was Brandon's seventh-grade wrestling coach, Ken Zintak, a founder of the Arlington Cardinals Wrestling Club and a man whose influence Brandon still feels.
"Every lesson he taught me since seventh grade has been with me to this point," he said.
Sarah marveled at the outpouring of love.
"I couldn't imagine it being any better," she said.