Xavier Castro poses for a photo with Raiderettes Annie (left) and Angel prior to the Raiders 35-27 win over the San Diego Chargers Sunday, October 10. Photo by Allan Yuan.
Xavier Castro's wish was to see the Raiders beat the Chargers. His wish came true Sunday, October 10. He attended the game as a beneficiary of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and had the opportunity to stand on the sidelines during pregame warm-ups and to meet some of the players.
The Make-A-Wish foundation "grants wishes for children ages two and a half to 18 years old with life threatening illnesses," explained Make-A-Wish representative Rachel Rogers. According to the Make-A-Wish Foundation's web site, the foundation has granted wishes to over 193,000 children around the world since its creation in 1980. One of the goals of the foundation is to provide the hope, strength and joy that come from receiving a wish.
Make-A-Wish hoped to deliver excitement and supply plenty of smiles when they granted Xavier's wish of attending the Raiders game. "He's a huge, huge fan. The family, they're all huge fans and he just wanted to come and meet the players and kind of be a part of everything," said Rogers. To fulfill the wish, Xavier and his family were picked up in a limo, driven to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and escorted to the Raiders sidelines to watch pregame warm-ups.
While enjoying the atmosphere from the field, two Raiderettes stopped by to say hello to Xavier and pose for pictures. As soon as they departed, Xavier was greeted by Raider CB Nnamdi Asomugha, FB Marcel Reece, and WR Louis Murphy. Xavier's happiness was palpable, especially when meeting his favorite player - Asomugha. "That million dollar look…it's an amazing look that he had," said Xavier's father, Francisco Castro.
As pregame activities came to a close and the Raiders left the field, Xavier and his family went to their seats to prepare for the game. They looked forward to the possibility of Xavier's biggest wish coming true, a Raiders victory over the Chargers. While they waited for the game to begin, Francisco Castro reflected on what the experience meant to Xavier and his family. "It means a lot to him. It's something he's been looking forward to for a long time and I'm glad he wanted to involve the whole family in it. That's the kind of kid he is," said Castro.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Oakland Raiders were excited to grant Xavier his wish of attending the Raiders game versus the Chargers. He hoped to see a Raiders victory and his wish came true.
