Game 18 – Honoring Over 90 Years Of Service At The Vikings Game!

After 5 weeks, we have proudly made Warrior Wishes come true at 16 NFL games!

We kicked off week 6 in Carolina making wishes come true at the Panthers game.

My dad flew home Friday morning & actually got to spend a night in his bed before catching his overnight bus to Minneapolis for our 2nd Vikings game of the season.

He arrived in Minneapolis at about 7am & quickly realized just how many people saw our featured news story in Minneapolis that aired last month. People at both of the hotels that he stopped at to get directions to the Stadium had seen the story & thanked him for what we do.

Minneapolis has an awesome indoor walkway system that connects a majority of the buildings downtown. Obviously, Minnesota has to deal with some sicken winter weather & the indoor walkway helps shield many people from the elements. Unfortunately the entire walkway didnt open until noon, so my dad had to walk to the stadium outside in the cold. He was thankful it was October & not January…

At 9am, my dad headed to the new Blarney’s pub to meet up with the warriors for breakfast. Blarneys pub is one of the best restaurants in Minneapolis to meet up with friends before, after & druing games. They offer an array of dining options, including appetizers, soup and salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and authentic Irish cuisine. They also have a great selection of craft beers. Make sure to stop by the Blarney Pub & Grill for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or take out next time your in Minneapolis.

Our guests for the day all arrived a little early which was great because it gave everyone a little more time to get to know each other before the game.

Today we were honored to host Army veterans, Larry Karels, Todd Karels, Matt Karels & Thomas Keane. Combined, these brave men served our country for a total of 98 years! Larry served 24, Todd served 20. Their dad, Matt put in 30 years & Thomas served 24. Wow! As you can probably imagine, my dad heard some great stories over lunch at Blarney’s.

After lunch, my dad presented the warriors heir new Vikings caps courtesy of New Era snapped some pictures in front of the new US Bank stadium.

Before heading inside, they walked around the Vikings fan fest and even got to meet Rodney Young & Autry Beaman, a couple of Vikings legends!

My dad escorted the warriors inside the stadium & had hoped to get a cheap ticket after the game started, but with the Vikings playing the Packers in a huge game, he was unable to find anything reasonable.

Inside the stadium, the guys were treated to an exciting game. A game that turned out to be a season changing victory for the Vikings in more ways than one. Not only did they takeover the NFC North lead, but Packers QB, Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a broken collar bone. Which means the Packers could face an uphill battle while he misses the next few weeks recovering from the devastating injury.

The warriors enjoyed every minute of the Vikings 23-10 win over the Packers at their first ever NFL game ever! After the game, my dad thanked them one last time for their years of dedication before he made his way to the Airport.

Operation Warrior Wishes would like to thank Blarney’s pub for hosting everyone for lunch before the game & New Era cap for providing the Vikings Caps!

TOGETHER WE MAKE WARRIOR WISHES COME TRUE!

Most importantly, we want to thank Army Veterans Matt Karels, Larry Karels, Todd Karels and Thomas Keane for their 98 years of service & sacrifices!

Typically my dad takes the $1 megabus back home from Minnesota. However, he needed to get to Nashville by tomorrow afternoon. With no cheap flights from Minneapolis to Nashville, we had to get creative. So he took a $40 flight from Minneapolis to Chicago & had 2 hours to catch his $1 overnight bus ride from Chicago to Nashville. Thankfully everything was on time.

He will be in Nashville tomorrow night making Warrior Wishes come true at the Titans 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!

Make sure to follow our mission live on Facebook Twitter & Instagram @WarriorWishes.