Husker fans with Wake season tickets

[HuskerPreacher]

This was posted on the Rivals board and I thought some here might be interested in it:

 

 

 

 

There's a big military hospital (Womack) at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, which is about 100 miles from Winston-Salem. A large number of GIs wounded in Iraq are treated or rehab there. They also have a "Warrior Transition Battalion" for wounded who are no longer in-patients but who will not be returning to regular duty and will eventually be discharged from the army.

 

When I received my season tickets, I noticed that their second home game is Army and thought maybe those soldiers would like to have the tickets. I called Womack this morning and they said yes, please send them. They asked how many they might receive and I told them they would be coming from Husker fans who bought season tickets, I didn't know how many there were, but pulled the number 40 tickets out of the air. I sure hope we can come up with that many.

 

Here's the mailing address (use all CAPS):

 

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

WAMC A ATTN: PAO OFFICE

2817 REILLY ROAD

MCXC PR

FT. BRAGG, NC 28310.

 

They did say they'd be happy to receive all the tickets we won't be using, not just the Army game. I asked about transportation and said I was certain we could spring for a good tour bus but they indicated that they could provide transportation and also that many of the troops in the Warrior Transition Battalion had their own cars.

 

So, before it slips your mind, unless you have a better use for them, please get those tickets in the mail to Womack. Thanks.

[AR Husker Fan]

I think this one definitely needs to be pinned. So, pinned it is. Guys, this really displays what Husker fans are all about. Between this and the Boys and Girls Club donations, you're really representing Husker Nation the way we all want to see it represented. Thanks to everyone who participates.

[Texan4Huskers]

The WF ticket give away caught the ear of the press in Winston Salem.

 

The notorious Big Red Horde that supports Nebraska football has arrived for today’s showdown between Nebraska and Wake Forest at Groves Stadium.

 

When they leave after today’s game, some will leave behind a sign of their generosity.

 

Several Nebraska fans who bought Wake Forest season tickets merely to get the opportunity to attend today’s game have donated the remaining tickets in their season books to local charities and military personnel in the state.

 

The Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Forsyth County is one beneficiary, and the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center is another.

 

“For us, it just really speaks to the generosity of people that would think of giving their tickets away instead of selling on eBay or trying to sell them some other way,” Rebecca Edwards, the program director of Big Brothers-Big Sisters, said yesterday. “In our case, it’s going to allow kids to have an experience they might not normally have. So, it just speaks volumes about people and their generosity, and we’re so grateful.”

 

Today’s game is a sellout, with a crowd of more than 36,000 expected.

 

Wake Forest’s season-ticket sales increased to a record 17,079 this year, and was cut off at that point. Wake Forest officials say they believe that the increase is largely because of an attractive home schedule and the fact that Wake Forest won the ACC Championship last season. But they have estimated that about 800 Nebraska fans bought season tickets in order to ensure that they would have tickets for today’s game.

 

At least two groups of Nebraska fans who bought Wake Forest season tickets have set up procedures to donate the remaining tickets they won’t use, for home games against Army, Maryland, Florida State, N.C. State and North Carolina.

 

The group that has donated tickets to Big Brothers-Big Sisters was led by a Nebraska student who wishes to remain anonymous. The campaign gained momentum through one of the team’s fan Web sites, and generated more than 60 tickets - about 12 sets for the five remaining games.

 

“We were contacted by a Nebraska student who got Wake Forest season tickets, and he told us a very touching story about seeing an older gentleman giving away his tickets to a man and his son one time,” Edwards said. “He said he got the idea from that, and he wanted to do the same. But he wanted to remain anonymous. He dropped off the tickets today. It was very good to meet him and talk to him.”

 

The donations to the Warrior Transition Battalion in Fort Bragg have exceeded 270 tickets, according to Jeff Kraftchak, a public-affairs specialist at Womack Army Medical Center.

 

Most of the tickets, he said, are for the Wake Forest-Army game next weekend.

 

Some soldiers from Fort Bragg were in Winston-Salem last night to attend a Nebraska pregame function and pick up more tickets.

 

“People started mailing them to us, and then it got to where we were getting several a day,” Kraftchak said. “Some days, we get a stack of tickets. Usually they come with a letter with well-wishes, so we’re copying all the addresses down so we can respond and thank them.”

 

Kraftchak also said he was touched by the generosity of the fans.

 

“It shows the support of the nation,” Kraftchak said. “It’s a great gesture. And it means so much. For somebody who’s not in this situation, maybe it sounds interesting. For the soldiers who are wounded, and lots of times they don’t have family here, to get an opportunity to go and see a football game means more than you can imagine.

 

“It’s been a great news story for us, too. We’re getting a lot of press because of this, and that’s great.”

 

Link

 

GBR GBR