Game 15 – Warrior Wishes Come True At The Texans Game!

We kicked off week 5 of the NFL season in Tampa Bay on Thursday night.  

After the game, my dad spent the night at the Tampa airport & “slept in” until 9am!  He originally planned to spend the day at the beach, but since the weather was less than favorable, he spent all day at the airport working on making future Wishes come true.  

Instead of going back to Chicago & having to fly to Houston for the Texans game on Sunday, my dad took a direct flight from Tampa to Houston to save a few bucks.  His flight departed around 7pm & he arrived in the “Lone Star” state at around 9pm.  

To save a couple more bucks, he spent Friday night at the Houston airport…  He said “there were no good places to sleep” so he stayed up all night to get caught up on paperwork, thank you cards & posts.  

Needless to say, he was exhausted Saturday morning, but that didn’t stop him from trying to make a difference.  My dad hopped on a bus to downtown Houston & planned to volunteer with hurricane relief efforts.  But when he got there, he was told the FEMA office was closed.

So this gave my dad the opportunity to take a little nap.  When he woke up, he walked over to the Toyota Center, Home of the Houston Rockets, & enjoyed their “fan fest.”  We look forward to teaming up with the Rockets later this year to make Wishes come true at a game!

After a full day of networking around town, my dad stopped at a local gym to get in a workout & cleaned up before he hopped back on the bus for $1.25 & made his way back to the airport to get some rest.

He made his way to NRG stadium early Sunday morning & spent all day hanging out in the 92 degree heat watching the early games before the warriors arrived for the Sunday night game.

Today we are honored to be hosting Vietnam Veteran Juan Morales, Marine Cpl Donny Daughenbaugh & Marine Casey Buentello at the Texans game.  

We have made some unforgettable memories & amazing friendships over the years making wishes come true at Texans games.  Here our some of our favorite moments.  

The warriors began to arrive at the stadium around 3pm.  After everyone was introduced to one another, they made their way over to the “Blue Crew Tailgate” & everyone got to know each other.  Derek “Battle Red” Uzzle, one of the Texans Superfans in Blue Crew Tailgate, hosted everyone at his tailgate & provided a 4th Row Seat for one of the warriors!  It worked out perfectly because the seats we bought were in the exact same section but in Row 16 rows back.

“Battle Red” made some awesome Meatball Sandwiches and warriors had a great time hanging out and meeting a lot of the Blue True Tailgate fans.  Before heading inside the stadium, everyone at the tailgate enjoyed destroying a Kansas City Chiefs piñata full of candy!  

The Texans provided 2 field passes for today’s game which gave Cpl Daughenbaugh & his son the opportunity of a lifetime to watch their Texans warm up from the field!

While CPL Daughenbaugh & his son were enjoying the field passes, my dad escorted Juan over to our friends, Vanessa, Colin & Rick’s, “steak & lobster tailgate ” to grab some more great food before heading into the stadium to get ready for kickoff.

As I mentioned before, the warriors all had great seats to watch their hometown Texans take on the undefeated Kansas City chiefs.  

The game started out slow as both teams thrived on Defense and struggled on offense.  After the first quarter, the Chiefs were up 3-0.  

But after 2 devastating injuries to the Texans defense, losing Whitney Mercilus & then JJ Watt for the season, the Chiefs took control scoring 20 points in the 2nd quarter & led 23-7 at halftime.

The Texans were able to fight back but in the end, they came up short losing 42-34.  The Chiefs remained the only unbeaten team in the league.  

Despite the loss, the warriors had an unforgettable experience thanks to the Texans who provided field passes, and to Debbie, Jeff and Derek who hosted the warriors at their tailgate & provided the 4th row ticket,  Rick, Vanessa and Colin provided the “Steak & Lobster” Tailgate & New Era who provided Texans caps!  

 TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!  

Most importantly, we want to thank Marines Donny Daughenbaugh & Casey Buentello, and Army Veteran Luis Morales for their dedicated service to our country!  We salute you!  

After the game, 2 firefighters gave my dad a ride to the airport.  He flys home first thing in the morning & will be back in action tomorrow night at the Bears game!  Stay tuned for more details.

It was an honor to host these brave warriors and make their Warrior Wishes come true. If you know a deserving warrior who would love to attend a game on our “All32in17” mission please nominate them today!