Last Updated on December 1, 2016 by CCAR Staff
UPLAND >> Maybe we should make that dateline Cleveland?
Cleveland is where UPS driver Roger Flores decided to catch his beloved — and on fire — Dallas Cowboys play after an Upland neighborhood treated him to a trip anywhere he wanted to watch a game.
It was a story that went viral in June without press releases and publicists. It started with an email from a resident to our Upland city beat reporter:
“The UPS driver, Roger, who serves San Antonio Heights, is so beloved — and goes above and beyond in making sure packages are delivered properly and safely — that the Heights community has taken up a collection to send him to a Dallas Cowboys football game,” wrote Carla Sanders, passing along the contact info for Lori and Mark Ravelli, the couple who was arranging everything.
What was arranged was a surprise party of sorts. His wife Candee was in cahoots with the neighbors, making up an excuse to get the family in the car for a Sunday drive — a drive that happened to conclude in San Antonio Heights.
Neighbors, residents of a nearby senior home and even congregants at a local church pooled their money together and managed to raise $1,700. When Flores learned of their plan, he broke down in tears.
“My customers are more than just my customers, they’re like family,” Flores said in a text.
In November, he broke out in cheers. On a hot streak with a current record of 10-1, the Cowboys easily handled the no-win Cleveland Browns 35-10.
“It was a good win,” Flores said by phone.
Flores took his cousin — not a fan, Candee passed — traveled with a few other friends and then met up with even more friends when he arrived. They were 16 or so altogether, tailgating for seven hours before the game and two more hours after.
“It was a wonderful memory. It was great. I’m just speechless. It was awesome.”
Despite making a weekend out of it and taking a detour to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Flores said he has some extra money. He’s squirreling it away in case the Cowboys make the Super Bowl.
“If they go to the Super Bowl, oh yes,” he said, he’s there.
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