On a brisk and rainy December morning, more than 40 Purple Heart veterans congregated outside Sport Clips in Georgetown in preparation for our journey to Fort Worth, Texas for the Armed Forces Bowl. While enjoying a hot cup of coffee and donuts, the flood of Sport Clips Clients were welcomed as the store opened for business.
Children and their parents and regular patrons looked on in amazement at what Sport Clips was doing for our most honorable veterans. We boarded the bus about 9:30 a.m., headed for Amon G. Carter Stadium at the Texas Christian University campus. Our group was greeted like royalty, and our veterans and their families were treated to the VIP ESPN tent where food and drinks were plentiful. The conversations I overheard were truly amazing and watching the common bond between Vietnam, WWII, Desert Storm, & Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans was incredible.
The entire game was truly an honor to our service members. Everything from the National Anthem to the coin-toss to timeouts to halftime to post-game was a tribute to our past, present and future service members. The highlight of the evening was definitely at the end of the third quarter, when more than 120 Purple Heart veterans from around Texas took the field to be recognized for their selfless acts. Watching the more than 30,000 fans in attendance stand in ovation gave me chills as the veterans smiled and waved.
It was a great day of football and camaraderie, despite Navy’s 48-45 loss to Louisiana Tech. The bus ride home was filled with thanks and praise to Sport Clips from our veterans. Thank you to Gordon Logan and our entire Sport Clips Family for making this day possible. It was truly an honor to be a part of it.
By Adam Moskowitz, Sport Clips