Game 27 – Warrior Wishes Come True At The Vikings Game!

After my dad’s “easy week” where we made wishes come true in Denver, DC, Chicago & Nashville.

My dad kicked off week 8 of our 2019 “All32in17” mission in Minneapolis.

In case you haven’t been keeping track, he took a 10 hour bus to Nashville on Sunday morning to make wishes come true at the Titans game, a 2 hour bus to Chattanooga Sunday evening to participate in the “Honor the Sacrifice golf tournament and bussed 12 hours back to Chicago Monday evening

He enjoyed a day off and hung out with the grandkids on Wednesday. And made his way back downtown Wednesday night to catch his 8 plus hour bus ride to Minneapolis. and he will have another 8 plus hour bus ride back home on Friday. That’s 40+ hours on the bus this week!

It’s obviously not glamorous, but my dad is willing to save money by taking the bus so we can use the money we raise on our mission & not travel expenses. We booked travel to nearly 50 NFL games this season for less than $2500!

My dad arrived in Minneapolis Thursday morning around 9am. He roamed the streets of Minneapolis reminiscing about the time we got lost after our first Vikings game as he passed the parking garage we had parked in when we eventually found our car… We have made a lot of memories in Minnesota. We have seen the Vikings play at the Metrodome, TCF Stadium & Their new US Bank stadium…

We also had the honor of making Warrior Wishes come true at Super Bowl LII…

I personally will never forget tailgating with the “VWO,” or seeing the look on Jeremy & Andrew’s faces when one of the coaches tossed them footballs to take home with them as we watched pregame warm ups from the sidelines. It was an awesome moment!

And last year I had the opportunity to take Xander, my son, to his first NFL game and make Warrior wishes come true at US Bank stadium! Another memory I will never forget.

Today we had the honor of hosting Army Sgt Brittain Drews and Army SSG Brian Wunderlich at the Vikings game.

Sgt Drew’s was nominated by his battle buddy, Lukas. Lukas says “Drews is a great man and he taught me a lot when he was still in and he saved my life. My family and I will always be thankful for that.” Brittain served 4 years and deployed to Afghanistan once, earning the combat infantry badge. It was an honor to show our appreciation for his service and sacrifices by hosting him at the Vikings game!

SSG Wunderlich was nominated to us by his wife. She told us it would be a dream come true for Brian to attend a Vikings game at US Bank stadium, something he has never done before. Brian is a die hard Vikings fan who never misses a game on TV. He has been serving since 2004, been deployed 3 times and continues to serve in the Army National Guard to this day. It was an honor to host Brian and his dad and make his warrior wish come true!

My dad met up with SSG Wunderlich and his dad for a delicious pregame buffet thanks to our friends at Day Block Brewery. Sgt Drew’s was running a little late so we had the honor of hosting SSG Carlson & Smith, a few warriors he met outside the stadium, to join him for a bite to eat before the game too.

Day Block Brewery is a downtown Minneapolis restaurant innovating on the most iconic duo–craft beer & pizza. Toss in happy hours, weekly live music & Sunday Breakfast Specials, this downtown brewery checks all the boxes every day of the week. We appreciate their support! Make sure to stop by next time you’re in Minneapolis!

As game time approached, everyone made their way over to the stadium through the VWO (Vikings World Order) to watch the Redskins and Vikings kick things off. The VWO is a group of the wildest and craziest Vikings fans you will ever meet!

The Redskins and Vikings offenses got off to slow starts. Both teams traded field goals twice before Dalvin Cook was finally able to punch the ball into the end zone just before half to score the only Touchdown of the game. It ended up being a field goal fest. Before everything was said and done, the Redskins made 3 and the Vikings made 4. The Vikings ultimately won 19-9.

The warriors enjoyed the win from the front row of the upper deck!

Operation Warrior wishes would like to thank Britain and Brian for their service and sacrifices! In the words of Les, Brian’s dad, “It was an awesome night!”

My dad’s night was about to be more awesome… after the game he jumped back on the bus and slept all the way to Chicago. Thankfully he will get a day to rest up before his last bus ride for a couple of weeks. He will be on an overnight greyhound to Kansas City to make Warrior Wishes come true at Sunday’s Chiefs game…