Best halftime show ever for the Metcalf family

By Mr. Larry D Mccaskill (ACC )January 19, 2014

The Metcalfs
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Master Sgt. Larry W. Metcalf scored big at a recent unexpected appearance at a football game.

Metcalf, 413th Contracting Support Brigade, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, with the help of the USO and a national pizza chain, surprised his wife and daughter with an appearance the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Christmas eve. Metcalf, returning home from a nine-month deployment in Kandahar, Afghanistan with the U.S. Central Command's Joint Theater Support Contracting Command, said it was pretty easy to set up.

"I contacted USO Hawaii and asked if they were doing anything special for homecoming for the holidays and this is what they responded with," said Metcalf. "It took five-to-six months to set-up. The USO Hawaii was looking for someone to sponsor the event and they found Papa John's Hawaii to help."

The set-up was simple. Get Metcalf's wife, Wendy, and daughter, Madison, to the game then isolate them in front of the crowd.

"Our friends Chris and Vanessa told her that I was doing a holiday message on the big screen during the game and that the only way you can see it is by going to the game," Metcalf said.

On game day, there's a drawing at the stadium for what was called 'The Best Seats in the House" and Wendy wins.

"I thought they pulled our name because of the way I folded our entry like an accordion. I told the lady that it'll feel different than the other folded papers so they'll pull it. When they did, I told all my friends we were with that it was because of the way I folded the paper," Wendy said with a smile. "Of course when my husband walked out it all made sense, but I was in such shock that I didn't realize that until almost an hour later. He has tried several times before to surprise me but I have always found out about it. This was amazing."

For Amy, most of the events that occurred after seeing her dad were a blur.

I was very surprised and excited. I was thinking, oh my gosh, my dad's here. This was a great gift," said the 9-year-old.

"He has never been able to surprise me. I was in shock until we left the game. I didn't bring our one-year-old because she is walking and I knew I'd be chasing her around the stadium," said Wendy. "So when we left the game it hit me that the baby still hadn't seen him. I was a mess the whole night, and still had to try to remember where Santa's gifts were hidden around the house."