The Blue Jackets Make Warrior Wishes Come True!

After taking a day off to celebrate Xander’s 4th birthday, my dad hit the road again for a quick trip to the east coast to make wishes come true in Columbus, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh & Cleveland.

I dropped him off at the train station at 4:15am Friday morning so he could catch his 6:10 greyhound bus to Columbus.

Snow & ice delayed the trip a little but, but he arrived in Columbus at 3:45pm, just in time to meet up with the warriors for dinner at Gordon Biersch before the game.

Today we had the honor of hosting Army Sgt Joe Schiefer & Marine Ryan O’Connor at the Blue Jackets game. We had hoped to host more, but the dangerous road conditions prevented all the warriors from attending…

Gordon Biersch once again provided a delicious pregame meal for the warriors. They had hosted us last year in Columbus & we are thankful for their partnership! We encourage you to stop by the next time you’re in town. It’s the perfect place to fill up before and after all Blue Jackets games!

My dad enjoyed getting to know Ryan & Joe over dinner. Both of them have been doing a lot of work for veterans here Ohio and even had worked for a local Congressman. My dad also congratulated Joe after he learned that he will be getting married in 2 weeks! Before making their way into the stadium, My dad presented the warriors with new Blue Jackets caps along with thank you cards & letters from school children.

They stopped to take some pictures outside the stadium and noticed the snow was really coming down. My dad checked the forecast which was now calling for 3-5 inches!

Ryan & Joe got to celebrate an early goal by the Blue Jackets but not much else… the Canucks scored 4 unanswered goals in the final 2 periods to put the game “on ice.” They went on to beat the Blue Jackets by the score of 5-2.

Despite the loss, it was a great night. The warriors enjoyed the experience even though their team fell short.

As they left Nationwide Arena my dad realized that he may have to spend the night at the Columbus Greyhound Station and was concerned about our warriors driving home in a blizzard… my dad was supposed to be taking an overnight bus to Philadelphia to make wishes come true at the Eagles playoff game tomorrow, however, there were cots all over the greyhound station & he quickly found out his bus was in fact cancelled….

The good news is that Joe & Ryan both made it home safe!

Operation Warrior Wishes would like to thank Gordon Biersch for providing the Pre Game meal, New Era for providing Blue Jacket Caps and the kids of Clinton and Ridge View Schools for providing letters to the warriors.

Most importantly, thanks to Army Sgt Joe Schiefer, Army Sgt Tony Robinson, Army Sgt Aaron Barnhardt and Marine Ryan O’Connor for their service to our country!

Stay tuned to see if my dad gets out of Columbus in time to make wishes come true at Sunday’s Steelers game!