Super Bowl Update

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Kyle and Alex meet Victor Cruz.


Read yesterday's blog posting for the rest of the story.

I am always amazed by the generosity of our supporters.  So many people have stepped forward to make a difference to Hope For The Warriors® and to the service members we assist.  The rest of my Super Bowl story surrounds someone who has been a longtime supporter.


As I stated in the last blog, Jim McMahon invited Kyle Moser and his family to join him in Indianapolis.  But really, a trip to this city would not be complete without going to the Big Game!  So, Hope For The Warriors® set out to make that possible.


Fortunately, two separate people stepped forward and donated two tickets each.  Two tickets in ADA seating for Kyle and his wife Alex and two separate tickets for Kyle's supportive father and stepfather.


And then there was Jim!

Jim Buckley was in the city, working with the Giants in the area of security.  I had met him earlier in the day and he hoped to meet Kyle.  Later, we were near his hotel so I sent him a quick text.  His response was to come by, he wanted to introduce Kyle to someone and give him a New York Giants cap.  Seemed like a short but fun stop to make.

Jim greets the Mosers.

We arrived at the hotel and things were crazy.  I should have realized that the Giants were all staying at this hotel and the lobby was filled with fans.  Soon after Jim found us, he and several security guards focused on introducing football players to Kyle.

Kyle and Alex meets many players.

One by one, coaches, managers, players and the owner himself came to Kyle, shook his hand and thanked him for his service.  Kyle was grinning ear to ear, and asking each player to sign his new ball cap.  In truth, many of the players seemed equally in awe of someone who gave so much for his country. 

With owner Mara and general manager Reese.

At some point, one of the players invited us to the private party.  And so that is how it came to be that Kyle, his beautiful wife, his father, stepfather and an overwhelmed PR Director from Hope For The Warriors® ended up surrounded by a group of very large football players.  WOW!

Kenny Phillips invites us to a private party.

Kyle also met Col. Gadson, USA (Ret.), double amputee and the Giants' honorary captain for the Super Bowl.  A great man and a true leader, Gadson and Kyle's conversation immediately dove into subjects that only they could completely understand.  It was my favorite moment of the evening. 

Our combat veterans meet.

Not to down play the Super Bowl itself but let's face it, most of you saw that amazing game.  Kyle and his family had a great Super Bowl experience. 

Each person holds their "Golden Ticket."

Alex and Kyle wait for the game to begin.

The Great Search is complete. Kyle finds the jersey.

Maybe I should have just posted photos and titled this blog "Kyle's Smile Says it All."

Lance Cpl. Kyle Moser, USMC spent his 20th Birthday in a place that most 20 year olds do not want to be--at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.  The Marine lost both legs and part of his right hand two days before Thanksgiving in Afghanistan.  But Kyle's 20th Birthday proved to be exciting and motivating.

 
Hope For The Warriors ® threw the young Marine a birthday party in his hospital room.  This is part of our bedside care for wounded service members.  Robin Kelleher, our President, was in the room and knew what excitement awaited.

 
The week before, Robin had received a phone call from Jim McMahon--former Chicago Bears quarterback and longtime supporter of our military.  He was looking for a wounded service member to invite to his Swang N' Super Bowl Bash and other parties leading up to the Super Bowl.  Hope For The Warriors® had met Kyle and his family and knew that he was a huge fan of the Chicago Bears.  She also knew that the early February trip would be the perfect motivation for this young Marine who had been through so much.  The trip was not just a reward for his service and sacrifice, it would become a key component in his rehabilitation.


The invitation came through a Skype video session and Kyle was surprised and thrilled!  Jim's invitation came with the added instructions to "get better so you can come to Indianapolis."


This is exactly why Hope For The Warriors® created our Hope & Morale program.  The Hope & Morale program provides respite and recreational opportunities for wounded service members engaged in the long process of recovery. Such events raise spirits, restore hope and inspire a commitment to recovery—all-important factors in long-term rehabilitation success.

Swang N' Super Bowl Bash
Alex and Kyle flew to Indianapolis the Wednesday before the Super Bowl.  That evening, McMahon hosted a Celebrity Mixer with many of his personal friends and guests and the Mosers.  It was the perfect low-key evening for this couple to begin their week.


The main event was held on Thursday and Kyle and his wife Alex and father Bob had a great time.  They were once again the personal guests of Jim McMahon and his girlfriend Laurie.  The room was filled with sports and music stars--all who took the time to talk to Kyle and thank him for his service to our country.  For his first outing, Kyle could not have been in a more supportive atmosphere. 

Alex and Kyle Moser sit with McMahon for a news interview.

During the evening, the party was also joined by some other service members.  A direct feed connected party goers to soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.  The wife of one of those soldiers spoke to her husband in a not-so-private but still emotional conversation.

Soldiers in Afghanistan joined the party.

On Saturday, the Moser family had the opportunity to once again sit with McMahon before he had to leave town.  They were all thankful for the time they had with their Chicago Bears hero.

A photo moment between two new friends.

Later that evening, we were the guest of one of McMahon's friends--Kyle Turley.  Turley is a former player for the Saints and now a musician.  His band was performing at a Country Western Bar and as you can see in the photo below, Kyle and Alex were ready to dress the part! 

The Mosers with Kyle Turley.

One final friend of McMahon's that I must highlight is Dick Lynch, president and founder of the organization, Impact a Hero.  Through this organization, Kyle and Alex flew home on Monday in a private plane, operated by Universal Weather & Aviation.  


Hope For The Warriors® thanks Jim McMahon and his staff, all of his friends, and all of the people at Impact a Hero and Universal Weather & Aviation.  His invitation and the trip was a huge morale booster for Kyle and his family.  He will not soon forget any of this!


Next blog posting....Kyle meets the Giants and goes to the Super Bowl!

Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies from Dolphin victories in Super Bowl VII and VIII.

April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez taken at Miami Dolphins Headquarters, Davie, Florida.









Sports Illustrated January 21, 1974

Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota

Larry Csonka



It's why you play the game.






For more on this longstanding wistfulness, see my Super Bowl blog post from last year

One Eyed Jack-The Libertine

The Libertine:  This place is a bar with amazing food.  It is small, so if you want to go, you better book it right this very second. (Since it’s a bar, no kids). They are going to be open for lunch throughout the Super weekend as well. Do it, you won’t be sad. My review is here.

Shrimp Po Boy at Mesh

Ceviche- Black Market

Tacos at La Parada

Goat Cheese Quesadilla-Room 4

Mussels & Frites- Brugge

Brugge:  A local favorite for mussels and frites and house brewed beer.  Their fries may just be the best in town and with a choice of about a dozen dipping sauces, it’s hard to decide (I like blue cheese, regular garlic aioli and the Sherry vinegar and salt). Check out my review. Open for lunch too!

Madcon - Glow - 2009 Eurovision Song Contest Flashmob Dance Finale (HD), Oslo, Norway. May 2009. http://youtu.be/32lpdFS7rPM

It starts a little slow, I'll grant you, but at 2:19, as the cameras leave the arena, then, serendipity...

After watching this, I'm convinced that a televised singing and dancing flash mob across the U.S.A., during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, would be MUCH MORE

I often think how blessed we are as a nation to have an institution that so perfectly reflects the American psyche and our deep attachment to tradition (by which I mean beer). I’m speaking of course about the Super Bowl.

On February 6, a hush will fall over the land as the American people gather before the family shrine for the annual rite of winter.

For people who wear team jerseys and buy lava lamps in their team’s colors, Super Bowl Sunday is the holiest high day on the religious calendar. Super Bowl Sunday easily eclipses New Year’s Eve as a party event. There may be a million people in Times Square on December 31, but on February 6, 130 million people will be at Super Bowl parties.

For many viewers, the ads are the best part. This year, ads cost $2,500,000 per 30-second spot, making them by far the highest-paid players on the screen.

Scrooges and humorless left-wingers enjoy the Super Bowl extravaganza in a self-righteous sort of way. They sniff that all the money spent on the half-time production could be better used to rebuild Haiti or feed the starving Somalians, oblivious to the fact that in America, we can indulge in a vulgar display of musical, marching, pyrotechnical exuberance costing millions of dollars, and it will represent only a fraction of the money we, as a people, have donated to disaster relief.

For the rest of the world, the game is soccer. But the World Cup doesn’t compare to the Super Bowl. For one thing, the image of major soccer competitions is one of collapsing grandstands and patrons being trampled to death. Whereas the image of the Super Beer…ooops, Freudian slip. The image of the Super Bowl is hot wings, pizza, Clydesdales in the snow, end zone celebrations, insane young men covered in body paint and nymphets in costumes made out of discarded gum wrappers. What’s not to like?

Although the charm of the Super Bowl for me is that every aspect of the event is over-the-top, there are people who miss the joke. For instance, Janet Jackson’s famous wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 halftime caused a huge uproar. People who accept the barely-sanitized girlie show put on by the cheerleaders were shocked – shocked – to find that sexual titillation was an official part of the Super Bowl festivities.


These same people may also be surprised to learn that Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest betting days of the year. When I was on the Virginia Racing Commission, I once presided over a public hearing about whether to approve the construction of a racetrack in a certain county. One of the opponents said, “I have nothing against horse racing. I like horse racing. But why do you have to have gambling? Look how big pro football is and they don’t have gambling.”

There was a long second of stunned silence before the entire hearing room was convulsed with laughter.
Nothing says “excess” like the Super Bowl. We’re talking about an event where billions of dollars change hands, hours of airtime and gallons of ink are devoted to it, and many of the related activities are in questionable taste.

This is the essence of Who We Are: People who apply all-American overkill to a nationwide party held on the flimsy pretext of watching a game.

Is this a great country or what?

          ---  Robin Traywick Williams is the author of  Bush Hogs and Other Swine and  Chivalry, Thy Name is Bubba.  She lives in Crozier, where she spends her time writing about the ridiculous aspects of everyday life.

Today, it's short and it's personal. Today this blog is just one more celebration of the joyful fact that the New Orleans Saints actually did it! Drew Brees and company won the Super Bowl, riding the resilience of their drowned city, playing for all of us who've ever had to bounce back.

My condolences to Colts fans, of course. But you've won many, many games. And you will win many, many more. You are lead by Peyton Manning, who, we are endlessly told, studies so hard -- and certainly always looks so serious on the sidelines.  Surely it's appropriate in these dreadfully serious times for a quarterback who actually looks as though he's playing a game to carry off this year's Superbowl MVP award.

Charlie and I watched last night with hope in our hearts -- if not expectations in our head. Both of us were decked out in the rag-tag detritus of my long-ago New Orleans visits. I wore Mardi-Gras beads; Charlie, who's not been to the Big Easy yet, wore my old New Orleans Jazz Festival t-shirt draped over his head like a kufiya.

So today, as WMRA's blogger-in-chief, I'm taking a journalistic break. I just cannot wrap my mind around anything but celebration!

"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gunna beat dem Saints?"