Martin’s Wish?  To meet the Detroit Red Wings!   

Most 15-year-olds have to be dragged out of bed, but Martin needed no alarm clock to wake him the morning of his departure from his home in Omaha to fly to Detroit – and it was set for 4:45 (AM!).  Wearing his Red Wings hat, Marty and his parents arrived in Detroit and stayed in a beautiful three-room suite at the Westin.  They were off to a great start!  As the family later said, “We knew we were getting something special when we needed a key just to get to our floor!”  While Mom unpacked, Dad and Marty went exploring (aka checking out the babes at the heated pool). 

 The next day, Marty and his parents made a “dry run” to the Joe Louis Arena in their rental car and then ventured into Canada for a little sightseeing and lunch at Bubi’s (pronounced Buh-bees), home of the eight-pound hamburger. 

 Later that day, it was time to go to “the Joe,” home of the Detroit Red Wings!  What seats!  Marty and his parents had seats in Dominik Hasek’s suite with a great corner view!  Dominik, owner of Dominator Clothing, later stopped by to meet Marty and chat with him.  After the game, Marty received a jersey of his favorite player – Pavel Datsyuk.  Oh yeah…the Red Wings won 5 to 2!  The game was fantastic!

 Day three started out with transportation via limousine.  As Marty said, “I could get used to this!”  The family was taken to “the Joe,” where they watched the Red Wings practice.  Marty was interviewed by the local Fox Station and Fox Sports Net.  He was on the news that evening, plugging Make-A-Wish^®.  After the practice, they hung out by the locker room and met many of the players and managed to get many autographs.  They really enjoyed meeting Stevie Yzerman and Coach Dave Lewis.  Mom said that the looks on Marty’s face were priceless. 

 They wrapped up the day with a stop, via limo, of course, for a late lunch at Hockeytown Café and enjoyed the evening relaxing in the hot tub at the hotel.

 Day four was a Saturday, and Coach Lewis had invited Marty and his parents to the team’s morning skate.  They enjoyed watching the pre-game practice and meeting ESPN announcer, Darren Pang.  Before leaving that morning, they were able to actually enter the locker room.  “WOW!” was Marty’s reaction.  It was hard to rest after all of this excitement, but they went back to the hotel to rest up for the game later that evening.

 Tonight’s game was a match between the Red Wings and Carolina, and tonight, they were “regulars” in the crowd, which was a fun atmosphere.  It was a very difficult game, and ended in a tie, 4-4.  After the game, Marty finally met his favorite player, Pavel Datsyuk.  What a wish! 

 As Marty’s mom said, “Marty made memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks again for all you do and for making Marty’s wish come true.”