Missouri player tweets proposal to Dallas Cowboys cheerleader

Forgive Missouri tight end Sean Culkin if he seems distracted during his preparations for the AT&T Cotton Bowl. Culkin, like a lot of red-blooded males, has become smitten with a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Culkin briefly met the cheerleader, who goes by the stage name Olivia Rene, during a bowl function Saturday night at AT&T Stadium.

By Monday, Culkin had proposed to her via his Twitter account, @culkin22, with the simple message.

Culkin attached a split photograph to the tweet. One side was a photo of himself standing next to Rene at the bowl party. Guests could have their picture taken with a quartet of cheerleaders and one of the Cowboys' Super Bowl trophies.

The other half of the photo shows Culkin standing next to Olivia Rene's locker in the cheerleaders' dressing room.

The cheerleaders' locker room is a standard part of tours of AT&T Stadium. Culkin apparently couldn't pass up the chance to be photographed at Olivia Rene's locker, which features a life-size photo of her above it.

Amazingly, Culkin got a positive response to his tweeted proposal, although it wasn't the "yes" he was hoping for.

So it turns out Culkin's dream girl is already married. In fact, she's the daughter-in-law of Kitty Carter, a dance coach for the Cowboys cheerleaders.

Culkin's proposal was shot down, gently, but at least he gained a fan in the process.

Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire