“Experience of a lifetime” made possible by partner charity, Tickets for Kids

There’s no event uniquely tied to Annapolis that matches a Navy football game. An F-18 flyover, the cannon firing after every Navy touchdown and the singing of the Navy alma mater at the game’s conclusion make Navy home games both special and memorable.

For a half dozen Board of Child Care residents, Dec. 28’s game was made possible thanks to Tickets for Kids, a non-profit organization from Pittsburgh, PA. Ushered by BCC’s Recreation Coordinator, Justin Pescetto, residents took in Navy’s 44-28 win over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis.

A few logistical hiccups aside – parking never comes easily in Annapolis – the residents made it to the stadium in time for the flyover and stayed through past the start of the fourth quarter as Navy marched to a school-record 11th win.

“A couple of the kids told me this was not just the first collegiate but first sporting event they had ever attended,” Pescetto said. “It was great for me to experience seeing them enjoy that thrill of walking into the stadium, seeing a flyover, hearing the roar of the crowd and everything else that is part of attending a game.”

Tickets for Kids provides tickets to children who wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to attend. The tickets came courtesy the University of Pittsburgh.

“The stories we hear from the Board of Child Care is why we come to work every day,” said Chris Anderson, Manager of Ticket Relations at Tickets for Kids. “Giving a child an opportunity to experience what so many of us take for granted is exciting because you never know what the long-standing effect it might spark positively for the kids.”

Pescetto called the entire day, “quite an experience.”

“The kids were excited from the minute we got in the van, but when we started to see the signs for the stadium and the exit, they amp’ed up even more,” Pescetto said. “Our kids didn’t realize how loud it gets when a touchdown is scored or some other big play is made. That’s the part of the game you don’t see and hear when you watch on television, so for them to be able to see it and hear it was special.”

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