Game 36 – Warrior Wishes Come True In Tampa!

Immediately following the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia, my dad headed straight to the airport to catch his flight to Tampa. He stayed overnight at the airport and met up with the Warriors first thing Sunday morning at Whole Foods for breakfast.

We were honored to be hosting Marine SGT Sam Morris, Marine SGT Chris Boreland & Army SPC Tommy Travis at the Bucs game and make their warrior wishes come true. All three Warriors were HUGE Bucs fans! (Learn more about the Warriors below)

After everyone got to know each other over breakfast, it was time to tailgate with some of the Buccaneers ultimate fans! Our friend Matt, AKA “Bucnutz” and his crew at “What The Buc?” have one of the coolest tailgate setups in the NFL. These guys have a pirate ship!!!! It was an awesome way to kickoff the day.

My dad walked the guys into the stadium and headed back to the tailgate to watch the game. Unfortunately, Drew Brees & the Saints went on to beat the Bucs by the score of 24-17 & continued our 5 game losing streak…

My dad went by the players parking lot before the game ended to save some spots for the Warriors. He was hoping to introduce some of the players to the Warriors. Especially Vincent Jackson. Vincent comes from a military family. He follows our mission on Twitter & has taken time to meet the Warriors we’ve hosted over the past few years. Jackson has his own non profit that has a mission to provide support to military families, focusing on the educational, emotional, and physical health of the children. You can learn more about his mission at jacksoninaction83.org.

My dad wasn’t sure if Vincent was going to stop because of the loss & he was injured in the game. He walked towards his car thru the crowd of people with his headphones on, but when he saw my dad, he made time to stop to thank the guys for their service & sign a couple autographs!

Needless to say, the guys were pretty excited to meet him as well as other Bucs players. It was the perfect ending to a great day making warrior wishes come true!

My dad thanked the Warriors one last time before gathering all his belongings and taking a $1 Megabus to Miami to host heroes & make more warrior wishes come true at the Monday night Dolphins game!

We would like to thank Whole Foods on Dale Mabry parkway for providing a specially prepared breakfast for the warriors, “Bucnutz” & “What The Buc?” for providing a once in a lifetime Buccaneers tailgate experience, New Era for providing new Bucs caps to all the warriors & All the players who stopped by to meet the warriors after the game.

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MARINE SGT CHRIS BORELAND

Chris Boreland joined the Marine Corps in 2005 and trained at Parris Island, SC. He was stationed in Camp Lejeune, NC with 3rd Battaltion 8th Marines. On April 6, 2006 Boreland was injured in an IED attack and awarded the Purple Heart. He was later medically retired in 2010. Chris currently live in Spring Hill, Florida with his wife of 8 years their 2 young sons. Chris is a huge Bucs fan and it was an honor to make this warrior wish come true!

MARINE SGT SAMUEL MORRIS

Samuel Morris served in the Marines from 2005-2012 while on active duty his MOS was 3531 motor transportation. After graduating from basic training and motor t school he was stationed in Jacksonville North Carolina with 3 battalion 8th marines where he deployed to Ramadi, Iraq in 2006 then returned and deployed back to Ramadi, Iraq in 2007 with 1st battalion 8th marines. Morris was medically retired from the marine corps in 2012. Sam is now a full time student going to school for his radiology certificate.

ARMY SPC TOMMY TRAVIS

Thomas (Tommy) Travis was born and raised Orlando, FL. He was passionate about sports as a child. He adores the Florida State Seminoles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No matter win or loss, he remains the biggest fan. After September 11th, he felt called to join the Military. Following in his father and Grandfathers footsteps. He joined the Army in 2006 as a military police officer. He was stationed in Fort Bliss and soon was called to deploy. He endured a 15 month deployment with the 978th Military Police company. The war forever changed him. While in Iraq he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury from two separate attacks while on combat convoy missions. These attacks took the lives of two of his closest friends. Once returning from war he was again called to deploy and serve in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, this happening a mere 7 months after his return from Iraq. He spent 12 months in Guantanamo Bay on a classified mission. His final duty station was Joint Base Lewis McChord. This is where he found and married the love of his life, Bethany. They have two incredible daughters. Thomas was medically retired in October 2014, he and his family moved back to the greater Orlando area. Together as a family they enjoy watching football, frequenting Disney world and just spending time together. Thomas is currently a college student studying general studies.