Game 26 – Warrior Wishes Come True At The Panthers Game!
My dad had the luxury of being home for a couple of days after making Wishes come true in Houston, Minnesota & Buffalo last week.
His break was extended due to him not traveling for the Thursday night game in San Francisco, his first missed game day since our 2018 mission kicked off in Early September.
He hit the road again Saturday night and took a 9:30pm flight from Chicago to Charlotte where he spent the night at the airport before meeting up with the warriors early Sunday morning before the Panthers game.
It was an honor to be hosting 3 Marines at todays Panthers game; Reid Bundy, Ashley Horton & Jeremy Durbin. My dad enjoyed a little breakfast with Reid & his wife before Ashley & Jeremy arrived.
Mecklenburg Sheriff Deputy, Chris Stoop, helped set up a police escort from the hotel to the stadium. It was an awesome way to kick off the day! We cannot thank Chris & the Mecklenberg Sheriff dept enough for helping us provide an awesome experience!
With the sirens blaring & the lights flashing, the Sheriff’s led the group right to the entrance of the stadium. The group snapped a couple of pictures in front of the iconic statues in front of Bank of America field.
From there they continued to escort the warriors to our tailgate hosted by our friends, Joe & Lori Scaldera at their “Cat Daddy” tailgate. As the warriors arrived, tailgaters began cheering & clapping for them to show their appreciation for their service.
The Scaldera’s have been helping us make Wishes come true since 2013. They always welcome the warriors with open arms and treat them to an unforgettable Panthers tailgate experience which includes a little blue “Panther Juice.”
As you can see from these pictures, everyone had a great time!
After a couple hours of tailgating the group made their way inside Bank of America Stadium to watch the Panthers Knick things off against on of their division rivals, the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The Panthers gave the warriors a lot to cheer about throughout the first half& took a 35-14 lead into the half!
The Buccaneers switched QB’s in the 3rd quarter & Ryan Fitzpatrick used his “Fitzmagic” to bring the Bucs back to within one score with 6 minutes left on the clock. Thankfully Cam Newton & the Panthers engineered one final drive for their 6th Touchdown of the day and went on to win 42-28!
Operation Warrior Wishes would like to thank Chris & Mecklenburg County Sheriff Dept for their awesome and very impressive Police Escort. We also want to thank Joe & Lori Scaldera with their CatDaddy Tailgate for once again hosting everyone at the tailgate & helping us make Wishes come true in Carolina!!
Most importantly, we want to thank Marines Ashley Horton, Jeremy Durbin and Reid Bundy – for their selfless service to our country.
After saying goodbye to the warriors, My dad watched the Sunday Night Football at a Downtown Charlotte hotel before he Ubered to airport to get a few hours sleep before his 6 AM flight to Dallas. He will be back in action hosting warriors at the Cowboys game tomorrow night! Stay Tuned!!!
