Friends with a spare darts ticket invited a homeless man along— and it turned into an unforgettable memory

Creating a meaningful experience for a stranger can leave a lasting impact, especially when it fulfills a lifelong dream. A group of friends from Bournemouth, England, did just that when they invited a homeless man named John to join them at the PDC World Darts Championship in London. In an unexpected twist, John turned out to be an avid darts fan who had long dreamed of attending the event. The plan was spontaneous, sparked when the group found themselves with an extra ticket, according to the BBC.

The group not only invited John to the championship but also covered all his expenses for the trip, including food, drinks, and a hotel room for the night. One of their friends had to cancel his plan and could not go out with the group. They were left with an extra ticket, but instead of reselling it, they decided to take a homeless person with them to the event. The group also paid for the man's food and drinks for the evening and paid for his hotel room at night so the man could stay comfortably. "It's not about the money. We could have got £75 back, but he really enjoyed it... and he'll remember it for the rest of his life," Craig Wells, one of the friends, told the outlet.

Dressed in matching Mexican costumes, the group was enjoying drinks in London when the conversation turned to their spare ticket. "We had one pull-out and rather than selling the ticket back, my friend Jamie said, 'Why don't you take the homeless guy?' [who] was sat outside the boozer at the time," Wells recounted. "So he went out and got him. We just said to him, 'What are you doing tonight?' He said, 'Not a lot,' and he started laughing at us." The group bought the man a pint of Guinness and invited him to the game with them.

"The only thing we didn't have was a sombrero for him," he added. John was actually a big fan of darts and was happy to go for the game. "He said to a friend of mine, it's been on his bucket list - he'd always wanted to go to the darts," Wells revealed. "The funny thing was, they did a bull's-eye competition... and he ended up getting a free drink from that. We were all trying and he comes along pops his first dart into the bull's eye. You couldn't make it up. At least we fulfilled his dream. He hasn't got a lot in life, but he's got something to remember now."

The friends' night out with John was posted on Dream Team's Facebook page and attracted a lot of attention on the internet. Azza Pazza wrote, "I thought it was top class. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, thinks it's highly cruel to show him a life he could've had only to drop him back off to the streets." Nigel Kee commented, "Respect to Bournemouth fans. They recognized the passing of a supporter at a fixture we had with them, not forgotten." Aiden Faries remarked, "Not all heroes wear capes, but some wear Sombreros. Well done, gents."