Longtime Abilene resident wins trip to Super Bowl thanks to Cowboys' Parsons
Mark Watson was planning to watch this year’s Super Bowl from the comfort of his recliner at his Abilene home. Instead, he’ll watch it live at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The longtime Abilene resident has been chosen to receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl, including two tickets to the game, by Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
It’s part of a partnership with USAA, the Special Forces Association and the Official NFL Salute to Service.
Watson, who served two stints in the U.S. Army (1983-87) and Army Reserve (1987-89), was stunned when he got the news two weeks ago.
“I was kind of shocked,” the 58-year-old Watson said. “It was just out of the blue. It just floored me.”
Watson, who has been in the Texas Army National Guard since 2007 and has the rank of sergeant first class, said this is more of a treat for his wife, Kimberly, who is a bigger football fan than he is, though they both are lifelong Cowboys fans.
“It’s funny, because I told them, ‘The truth be told, I’d probably rather be sitting here in my recliner watching it, because of the cost and all that to go to a game and being up there in the nosebleed seats,’” Watson said. “But my wife is bonkers about football and always wanted to go to a Super Bowl. This is really more for her and her sacrifices more than anything I did.”
Watson got the news two weeks ago during a Zoom meeting with USAA representatives and William Smith, his former sergeant major, while he was in a Special Forces unit in San Antonio. It was Smith who nominated Watson for the prize.
Watson said the award sponsors are covering the cost of the flight and lodging for the game, including tickets to the NFL Experience the Friday before the game. They also will receive $500 in spending money, along with tickets to the game.
The only negative aspect of the trip is that the Cowboys won’t be playing. Their NFC East rivals Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs instead.
“That was the only bad thing. They dropped the ball there,” Watson said about the Cowboys, who lost to San Francisco 19-12 in the NFC semifinals.
Watson didn’t hesitate when asked which team he will be rooting for – the Chiefs, led by former Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“We don’t like the Eagles at all,” Watson said, “and we also like Mahomes, because he was a Texas Tech boy and I went to Texas Tech and my daughter graduated from there.”
Watson, a 1982 Cooper graduate, attended Tech from 1987-89 before returning to Abilene to serve with the Abilene Police Department.
He retired from APD in January 2021 as a commanding lieutenant of Criminal Investigations after 32 years.
During his time with the Special Forces, he was deployed to Central and South America, Jordan, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Lebanon.
The Watson’s two daughters – Harley, 26, and Ashley, 30, also served in the miliary. Both are Hawley graduates. Harley did four years in the miliary with the 173rd Airborne Brigade First Cavalry in Germany. She is back in Abilene.
Ashley was in the Navy and served on the USS Constitution in Boston and later the USS Tripoli in San Diego. She medically retired from the Navy after undergoing surgery for jaw cancer. She lives in California.
While the Watsons won’t be able to watch the Cowboys play, they will get a chance to meet to Parsons, who praised the family.
“From military to law enforcement, Sergeant First Class Mark Watson and his family have been protecting and serving our country for more than 30 years and counting,” Parsons said in a news release. “Coming from a military family myself, it’s a great pleasure to team up with USAA and the Special Forces Association to recognize and thank a true hero and a Cowboys fan like him. I look forward to meeting Mark and his wife in Phoenix.”
Ironically, this will be only the third NFL game Watson has seen in person.
“My wife always wants to go to the Cowboys games, but I’m like, ‘I can see it better on my big screen TV here,’” Watson said.
He did see a Cowboys game in the old Texas Stadium, and he also attended a game in the new stadium in Arlington after returning from a tour overseas. Harley flew in from Germany to see the game.
When the Watsons got married, it was Miami quarterback Dan Marino who was Kimberly’s favorite player. She asked her newly wedded husband to take her to the Super Bowl if Marino and the Dolphins ever made it.
“That was pretty safe, because I didn’t think he would ever make it there,” Watson said.
Well, Marino and the Dolphins did play in Super Bowl XIX in 1985 and lost to the 49ers 36-16 in Stanford, California.
They didn’t attend that game.
“So, now she gets this,” Watson said. “It’s just 30 years later.”
And Watson said this is really a trip for his wife.
“She’s held down the home front, so this is like a big thank you to her,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene resident wins trip to Super Bowl because of military service
