Yesterday on the Charlie Pallilo radio show a listener called in and wondered if it was logistically possible to see every team and every stadium in one NFL season. I caught the tail end of the conversation, but I thought it was an interesting topic and I decided to figure it out. I can't speak for all NFL season, but I can tell you that it is possible for the upcoming 2008 season.
Now keep in mind this is a rough draft, so if you see any errors let me know and I'll figure it out. Also, this does not include any games or stadiums out of the US, which makes it a little more of a challenge because that is a few less home games in which to deal with.
Here is the breakdown.
Week 1
Thursday, September 4, 2008 Washington Redskins at NY Giants.
Opening day of the NFL season, that knocks out the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and Giants Stadium.
Sunday, September 7, 2009.
We skip the first set of games here and make our way out to San Francisco for the Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers matchup at 4:15 EST at Monster Field. After the game drive across the bay for the Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders game at 10:15 PM EST at McAffee Coliseum…maybe even stop for a beer.
Week 2
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The early game of the Tennessee Titans at the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. From there we catch Continental flight 8693 from Cincinnati to Cleveland for the Sunday night game of Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Monday, September 15, 2008
On Monday morning we fly to Dallas to see the Monday night matchup of the Philadelphia Eagles at the Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium.
Week 3
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Atlanta Falcons host the Kansas City Chiefs at the Georgia Dome for the noon game.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Monday nighter takes us to QualComm Stadium for the New York Jets at San Diego Chargers matchup.
Week 4
Sunday, September 28, 2008
We will be in Charlotte NC for the start of week 4 for the Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers matchup at Bank of America Stadium.
From there we will catch US Airways non-stop flight 3131 to Chicago for the Sunday night game of Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Heinz Field and the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens in a divisional matchup.
Week 5
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The only game we'd be at this weekend on Sunday is the noon game where the Houston Texans host the Indianapolis Colts at Reliant Stadium.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings at the Louisiana Superdome for the Monday nighter.
Week 6
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Heading out East for the Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at Raymond James Stadium
Monday, October 13, 2008
NYG at Cleveland Browns - been there, done that. We have the night off to rest our livers.
Week 7
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Traveling North to Buffalo for the noon matchup of the San Diego Chargers at the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Monday, October 20, 2008
The New England Patriots host the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium.
Week 8
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Noon game of the Washington Redskins at Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans. We have seen both teams, but not LP Field…so why the hell not?
Week 9
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Noon game of Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Hello FedEx Field.
Week 10
There is a Thursday game this week, but it is between two teams that we have seen at a stadium we have been to.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
We will start off with the noon matchup of the Green Packers at the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome.
Monday, November 10, 2008
San Francisco 49ers at the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium for the Monday nighter.
Week 11
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 16 the Seattle Seahawks host the Arizona Cardinals at Qwest Field for the 4 o'clock game.
Week 12
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Noon game of the New England Patriots at the Miami Dolphins at Dolphins Stadium.
Week 13
Thursday, November 27, 2008 the Philadelphia Eagles host the Arizona Cardinals at Lincoln Financial Field.
Sunday, November 30, 2008 the Green Bay Packers host the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field.
Week 14
Sunday, December 7, 2008 for the noon game the Washington Redskins visit the Baltimore Ravens at M & T Bank Stadium.
Week 15
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The noon game is the Seattle Seahawks at the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome.
Week 16
Thursday, December 18, 2008 the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Municiple Stadium.
Sunday, December 21, 2008 the Denver Broncos host the Buffalo Bills at Invesco Field for the noon game.
Week 17
Sunday, December 28, 2008 the Indianapolis Colts host the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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12 comments:
This is good work. Not only do I want to get a job with your company so I can work on things like this, but I am also intrigued to take some time off of work to accomplish this. I will have to take donations for tickets/airfare!
Roughly how many of these games can you tailgate at?
Good question, I'll check and post back later tonight. I think you can tailgate at a good portion of them, as most of the hectic travel seems to be earlier in the season. By the half way point you have already seen every team, just not every stadium. I would think at the end of the season we would need a liver transplant.
If I am ever independantly wealthy, I intend to undertake this!
What would you do if you needed a home game for every team? Right now there is no Jets home game
The Jets home games are played at Giants Stadium, and I believe they will be sharing the new stadium as well. That helps.
I would think that during the course of the season you see every team at home except for the Jets depending upon the schedule.
Not seeing the Jets at home is bending the rules. While they play in the same stadium, a Jet game and a Giant game is a different experience.
You forgot about San Diego at New Orleans in LONDON (week 8). It's a home game for New Orleans, so you gotta count the stadium.
I know you said it doesn't include games outside the USA, but now that you've figured out how to do the games inside, add in London! Can it be done??
Wow. Brought back some memories there. This is definitely possible. I had actually planned to make the complete circuit, all by car, with a buddy back in the 2002 season. That fall was supposed to be my last semester of college, and I decided to push it back one semester to make the trip.
So I went through the process of planning out my route, and I was able to make it work for that season. I know there were fewer Thursday games that season, so that added a little to the difficulty. I also seem to remember a day where there was an afternoon game in Pittsburgh followed by a Sunday night game in Cleveland (or maybe it was Washington/Baltimore?). Anyway, that was part of getting the schedule to work together.
I actually went so far as to get in touch with someone from NFL.com, who agreed to let me to an "online diary" (now it would be called blog, I guess) on their site discussing our experiences. At that time he told me that he would definitely be able to help get tickets (comped) at about 1/3 of the stadiums, another 1/3 were "possibly," and the for the final third we would be on our own for scoring tickets.
Anyway, it ended up falling through due to a family issue, then I graduated and entered the real world with a real job, and the rest is history. I'm sure it would have been a ton of fun though.
I also am sure that now it would be somewhat easier with the advances in technology. Back then cell phones were much more expensive, especially for roaming. Wi-fi was almost unheard of and most people still had film cameras. Of course, gas was probably $1.50 a gallon, too, which would have helped.
I know that sometime during the spring of 2003 I took the time to plot that season's schedule against a potential road trip itinerary, and I know that it could have been done that season, too. Lots of miles, and a lot too see.
If anyone reading this really is considering it, and you're at a place in your life where you could make it happen, go for it. Absolutely. I sometimes still look back and wonder what possibilities it might have opened for me, in terms of all the people I would have met along the way and the publicity from being a "blogger" (before the term was known) on nfl.com.
I had also given some thought to potential sponsorships to make it less of a financial burden - again, this is something that could be much easier now due to technology. And, another angle might be to get out on some of the social networking sites and look for people in each local market that would show you how to tailgate and enjoy the game like a homer.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling comment, but I think it's still a great idea and someone should do it. It would be the experience of a lifetime, and quite possibly life-changing in many ways. I'd be happy to discuss this more, via these comments, with anyone that might be interested.
It is possible with the London game from what I've heard. I didn't figure it in, but another listener of the CP show did. I'm sure I could work a Jets home game in there too, but the original question was every team and every stadium.
If I ever become independantly wealthy, I plan to undertake this.
Brilliant plan. Amazing. I can just see it now: "Honey, I'll be home just after Christmas. Have fun with the kids. Bye."
Also, the Bills have a game in Toronto this year.
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