GLENDALE — A Texas Christian University dad had quite the journey to get to Glendale to see his senior student play in the marching band at the Fiesta Bowl.
Christopher Ortiz was one of the thousands of people who got caught in the Southwest chaos over the last few days.
ABC15 spoke with Ortiz on Wednesday, who ended up getting his flight canceled to Phoenix. At that time, Ortiz could not find any other flights to Phoenix to see his son play in TCU marching band for the Fiesta Bowl.
“This one's going to hurt. This one's tough. I really thought that we had about a 60,70% chance that we get out of here and. Yeah, this one's going to this one's. Definitely going to sting for a while,” he said, emotionally, in an interview on Wednesday after the flight cancelled.
Ortiz miraculously got a ticket to Phoenix late Thursday night. He said he kept refreshing the Southwest page, and at last, a flight popped up. Going to the Fiesta Bowl is important for Ortiz to see his son play on a big stage one last time as a senior for the university.
“They’ve never been at this height. They’ve never been at this level. So, for me to be part of something this big, is, for a dad who started watching my son play through middle school and being a band dad, now seeing him to his last year, to his university level, this is really important for us,” he told ABC15 while in Phoenix.
