Game 25 – Warrior Wishes Come True In The Music City!

In my dad’s words, “This is a pretty easy week…”

He kicked the easy week off in Denver on Thursday night making Warrior Wishes at the Broncos game with some incredible warriors including a Marine who served in Vietnam and was awarded 4 Purple Hearts!

He was back home in Chicago Friday morning where he got to catch up on some sleep, play some video games with Xander and prepare for the weekends festivities.

Saturday night we drove downtown around 6pm to meet up with our friend Vinny. Vinny and his crew in San Francisco have been unbelievable hosts of ours in San Fran since we began our mission in 2012! So we jumped on the opportunity to take him out and return the favor while he was in Chicago.

After watching the Astros beat the Yankees in dramatic walk off fashion, we dropped Vinny back off at the hotel and hurried to get my dad to the bus stop so he could catch his overnight $1 Megabus to Nashville.

Nashville is a great city. Throughout the years we have made a lot of unforgettable memories making wishes come true in the “Music City.”

Personally, I will never forget Derek & Fabian and the experience we had at our 2012 Titans game. It was the last and final game of our 32 game mission. Signature limousine picked us up from our hotel in a stretch hummer limo!

We toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and had dinner before the game.

Then the Titans and Jack Daniels went above and beyond to make the experience unforgettable. They provided and awesome tailgate, field passes, custom jerseys and tickets in a suite to the warriors.

Before the game, the crew from ESPN stopped by to thank the warriors. It was one of my favorite memories of hanging out with our friend Stuart Scott…

Steve Young played catch on the field with the guys…

They guys took a team photo with the cheerleaders…

And even got to meet Tim Tebow!

The Titans also honored Derek and Fabian on the field during the game! They invited us to come out and stand behind them on the field while they were being honored for their service and sacrifices.

Standing in the middle of the field watching a sold out crowd giving these heroes a standing ovation was incredible. I remember crying tears of joy walking off the field. We had “accomplished our mission” little did we know it was actually just beginning…

Needless to say, it’s tough to replicate an experience like that, but we always do everything we can to make each mission special.

Upon arrival in Nashville, my dad walked down the street to to the stadium. Today we had the honor of hosting Army Sgt Tommy Supeck and Marine Cpl Charles Wakefield at the Titans game.

Tommy Supeck served in the Army from 2003-2009. He and his son Love football, especially the Titans. They have never been to a game before and we were honored to make their Warrior Wish come true!

Marine Cpl Charles Wakefield enlisted in the USMC in 2003. Shortly after boot camp he was deployed to Iraq with the 1st battalion 8th Marines as a Tow Gunner.

He Fought in Operation Phantom Fury where he lost 21 brothers, who will never forgotten and returned home with a Purple Heart for injuries received in a bombing at a Haditha Police Station.

Cpl Wakefield Married his high school sweet heart two weeks after returning home from deployment and they now have 3 children. He continues to serve his local community as a police officer.

Charles was nominated to us Wesley Collins, by a battle buddy who says “He (Charles) was always the guy you could count on to make you smile when times were bad. He is a fun loving guy who you can not bring down.” It’s an honor to make his Warrior wish come true!

My dad met up with the warriors at the Jack Daniels tailgate. Jack Daniels has been making Warrior wishes come true since 2012. Their tailgate is top notch!

The guys enjoyed some great food and drinks while getting to know each other before heading inside Nissan Stadium to watch the Chargers and Titans Kick things off from the front row! We would like to thank Mrs. Bradley Cordts for also donating 2 tickets to the game!

They were treated to an exciting game that came down to the wire. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Titans were up 23-20. However, the Chargers just got the ball thanks to a turnover on downs and marched down the field. Worst case scenario looked as if the game would go into overtime. On the 1 yard line with 19 seconds left in the game, Philip Rivers handed the ball off to Melvin Gordon who tried to push his way into the end zone, but ended up fumbling the ball and turning it over to the Titans! Titans Win! It was an amazing way to end another amazing day!

Operation Warrior Wishes would like to thank Army Sgt Tommy Supeck and Marine Cpl Charles Wakefield for their service and sacrifices. You guys are appreciated and will never be forgotten!

For the first time all season, my dad will be missing the Monday night game this week. Instead, he will be heading out to Chattanooga to take part in golf outing to support our friend Andrew Smith’s charity.

The Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation was formed in 2013 by wounded United States Army Sgt. Andrew Smith (retired) and his wife, Tori. Together with a dedicated team of volunteers, the husband and wife duo are assisting service members and their families, just as they have been supported during their journey. They are a 501(c)3 public benefit charity. Just like ours, their Board of Directors is made up entirely of volunteers who are committed to their mission of helping our wounded heroes.

The goal of the Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation is to provide the needed resources: financial and material, to severely injured men and women and their immediate families, whose injuries were incurred while serving our country. Please take a minute to consider supporting their mission by clicking on the logo below.