MISSION: Tickets for heroes!
The crowd cheered as the military color guard unfurled the flag. But the soldiers weren’t allowed to stay for the Super Bowl. That’s not right! Navy vet Mike Focareto thought . . .
Look! There’s Paul. And Steve!” Mike Focareto nudged his friend Chris as the two military veterans stood for “The Star-spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, proudly watching the military color guard march in formation.
As the National Anthem finished and an enormous flag was unfurled, the service men and women marched off the field. But then Mike noticed they weren’t stopping—they kept marching out of the stadium.
“Why aren’t they staying to enjoy the game?” the retired Naval engineer wondered aloud—and learned that the Color Guard wasn’t provided with tickets.
We would like to invite troops to attend the game!
“They’d have to buy their own tickets,” a team rep explained.
To Mike, this seemed preposterous. They’re active military— they can’t afford Super Bowl tickets! They were here to honor their duty and sacrifice to our country. Besides, there were plenty of empty seats in the stadium. So why couldn’t they stay?
As football gave way to baseball season, Mike remained troubled. So, thinking ahead to summer, he and some friends pooled resources, purchased 250 club seats for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Fourth of July game and contacted the local Army National Guard.
“We’d like to invite troops to attend the game!” he announced.
After the game, nearly every veteran thanked Mike, huge smiles on their faces.
This can’t be a one-time thing, Mike decided, and began contacting local sports teams and concert promoters for tickets, which he then distributed among local veteran-owned small businesses.
“You know which of your service buddies needs a few hours of fun and relaxation,” Mike said—and Vet Tix (Vet Tix.org), a website to donate event tickets to currently serving military, veterans and their families, was born.
These are the events we have tickets for in your area, the site e-mailed every morning. And soon, veterans across the country were receiving some of the best seats in the house to NASCAR races, hockey games and even Beyoncé concerts—always free!
Usually, the tickets are gifted in pairs so recipients can take a friend, fellow service buddy or loved one. Often seats are even in groups so veterans can sit alongside other veterans. That way, wounded warriors and those who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can feel more comfortable and understood. And when the seats are scattered, most ticket recipients wear the Vet Tix T-shirts they’re given so an anxious warrior will be reassured that his comrades in arms nearby.
For one Navy veteran from Dallas with PTSD who hadn’t gone to a concert in years, tickets to see the band Pink Floyd worked a small miracle.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get out! Even though I was in the middle of the crowd . . . we had such a great time, it even helped with my PTSD!
When she received tickets to see the folk rock band The Lumineers, Deanna, an Army vet from Cincinnati, wrote: They sang the song I walked down the aisle to! So when they played our wedding song, I turned to my husband and told him that I am pregnant with our first child. Thank you for making a special moment even more special! Today, Mike and Vet Tix have honored veterans with more than 2.6 million event tickets—worth thousands of dollars!— to enjoy everything from the opera to floor seats at an NBA game. And each and every “thank you” he receives fills Mike with pride.
“Being a veteran, I know what it means to know your service has been appreciated,” he says. “That’s why I’m honored to be able to give back to the brave men and women who serve our country. I can’t think of a more fun way to say ‘Thank you!’ ”