Super Bowl trip will make Menifee man's dream come true

Matt Blakeman and family members are ready to attend the Super Bowl. (Photo courtesy of Dream Foundation)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Matt Blakeman thought he was getting a special gift when his mother and stepfather treated him to a trip to the NFL Pro Bowl last weekend in Las Vegas.

He was. But as it turned out, that’s nothing compared to the gift Matt received this week.

Just three days after attending the Pro Bowl, the family received word that they would be guests of the Rams and the NFL at this Sunday’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles – a trip set up by the Dream Foundation. The Foundation – the only national dream-granting organization for terminally-ill adults – notified the Menifee family on Wednesday that Matt’s wish had come true.

“We were watching football one day and Matt said it would be fun to go to the Super Bowl,” Matt’s mother Wendy said. “We contacted the Make a Wish Foundation, but we found out it’s only for children up to age 18. Then we found out about the Dream Foundation and applied, but we kind of did it as a joke. We had no idea the dream would come true.”

Matt, age 26, suffers from aggressive Bulbar ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He had recently joined the Army to become a parachute rigger when he began to notice symptoms in November 2021. Eventually, he lost the ability to walk, dress himself, and do other routine tasks. Matt struggles to communicate vocally but is mentally fully aware and excited about Sunday’s game between the Rams and Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.

In addition to being a big football fan, Matt is a huge fan of rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre, who will perform at halftime along with Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar. Is the whole experience a dream come true for Matt?

“You could say that,” he said in a phone interview with Menifee 24/7.

“Matt loves football, but he also loves rap music,” Wendy said. “He’s been trying to tell me about Eminem and explain his lyrics. He has a great interest in the halftime show. To know he gets to see that and the Super Bowl game is amazing.”

Wendy and her daughter, 15-year-old Alexa, were involved with the request to the Dream Foundation for Matt to attend the Super Bowl. They said nothing to Matt’s stepdad, Dylan Manry, or to Matt, figuring it was a huge longshot. Meanwhile, as a birthday present to Dylan and to give Matt a surprise for an event they could afford, they bought tickets to the Pro Bowl and acquired a handicap van for the trip to Las Vegas.

“It was pretty cool,” remembers Matt, who had no idea at the time that he and his parents would be headed to SoFi Stadium a week later.

Then on Wednesday, Wendy received a call from Barbara Schoch, vice president of programming for the Dream Foundation, giving her the good news.

“I was so excited,” Wendy said. “I told my husband he had to take Sunday off work. He said, ‘I don’t know if I can; I just took a Sunday off.’ I said, ‘Don’t you think you can get a Sunday off to go to the Super Bowl?”

That night, as usual, the family gathered at the dinner table for a prayer and to say what had made them happy that day. Wendy shared that she laughed about an online meme saying that a football game would be played along with the Eminem rap concert on Sunday. Dylan followed by saying, ‘I’m glad we actually get to go to that game.’

“Matt just laughed it off at first. When he realized we were serious, we all got very emotional.”

Despite his illness, Matt’s spirits are high as he deals with life's challenges, said his mother.

“That’s been the amazing thing about Matt,” she said. “He’s in very good spirits. Without that, we would be in trouble. He also gets great support from friends.”

Kisa Heyer, CEO of Dream Foundation, also is happy for Matt and his family.

“We are so grateful to the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL and everyone who helped bring this Dream to life so quickly,” she said. “We received Matt’s application just a couple of weeks ago, so this is a beautiful example of our Dream community coming together. Super Bowl Sunday will be a day that will be forever treasured by Matt and his parents, and we are so honored to be a part of that.”