It’s January 1st, 2015 and we at DAWG Nation are celebrating our fourth anniversary! In our short existence we have achieved some incredible milestones and touched many, many lives. One of those lives is Andy Barnard. Andy has an incredible story and it was first discovered by our very own Mike “Sully” Sullivan. Sully was perusing Facebook when he happened across a note from a young man from Scotland that was planning on visiting Colorado to take in his first ever Avalanche game. But that is where the story just begins!
It turns out that Andy was in the British Army in 2008 where he met a U.S. Soldier named Isaac Palomerez. Isaac happened to be from Colorado and huge Avalanche fan. The two quickly become close friends as Isaac shared everything he knew about the Avs and ice hockey with his new pal. As Andy’s tour ended the two parted ways and Isaac presented Andy with his beloved #19 Joe Sakic jersey. There was a catch though, Andy would be required to some day come to Colorado and watch and Avalanche game and Isaac would in turn head to Scotland to enjoy the local pubs with Andy.
Unfortunately a month after parting ways, Isaac suffered the ultimate sacrifice when he lost his life in an IED attack. The loss was very hard on Andy and he vowed to someday still fulfill his pact. Well, that day has finally come. Andy will be landing in Denver on January 6th and attending his first ever Avs game on Thursday, January 8th. If your in attendance, please stop by that night to say “hi”!
