As we drive the A1A-Beach Front Avenue (eastern coast of Florida), still sore from the marathon training, we have come to the realization that our trip is almost over. Last Friday, Christmas, signified the inevitable. Nolan and I dropped Aaron off at the Nashville airport on Christmas day before the Titans / Chargers game. He had to get back to do some work and go to the Holiday Bowl to see his beloved Wildcats battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was strange to drop him off and lose a member of the trip for good, but it was his decision and he helped us out a lot by coming on the trip. It makes it more difficult to blog with only two people, since Nolan has to do some work and that leaves me to drive. So after dropping him off, Nolan and I went to LP Field and checked out other tailgates. We were the only car in our parking lot for over an hour, so we decided it was too difficult to set everything up especially since we didn’t have anybody stopping by, and we walked around prior to the game seeing what Nashville and the Titans fans had to offer. It was a difficult game to tailgate at because there was a bitterly cold wind and it was Christmas. At least that was why I thought there was so few tailgates and people.

The game itself was all San Diego. The Titans fans in section 308 were lively for the first half, but the enthusiasm died down rather quickly after the half. With the poor play of the Titans and the cold wind, the “First Down” cheers dwindled and the fans left early with their playoff hopes smashed by the lightning-hot Chargers! After the game, we decided to check out how Nashville celebrates Christmas night. The best place we went to was an awesome Karaoke Bar called Lonnie’s, where we saw a Santa rap free-style. It was quite impressive and hilarious! We didn’t sing, however. Our throats were still sore from all the Rock Band singing in DC. The next day, we hit up some other Nashville classics, Pancake Pantry, Dan McGuinness, and the Parthenon replica.

… Continue reading Warm Weather is Better for Marathon Training!

So after surviving our third and most intense blizzard, we stopped in to stay with some friends for the weekend near Philadelphia. We slid in to a parking spot and to a welcomed, home-cooked Italian dinner, wine, awesome company, and some limoncello. It was a great way to spend the evening after driving 25 mph down the 95. After dinner, we ventured downstair and started the flip cup tournament, where some people found new talents that they never knew existed. I had a few rough starts, but then it was one or two flips the rest of the way. I guess you would have to say, we’ve had a lot of practice.

The morning always comes too early, but luckily the game time got switched to 4:15 pm instead of 1:00 pm. We then got up and started the shoveling process to get the RV and cars out from the two feet of snow. Luckily we had the help of a nice man you brought over an industrial strength snow-blowing machine. That saved us about two hours no joke. So we packed up the RV with some drinks and people and headed over to the Linc! It was packed but the traffic wasn’t bad at all. We had a tough time finding a spot, but talked to some cool Eagles fans who let us park next to them. We pulled out the TV, put on some football and hung out. I went to the game by myself, and enjoyed the Linc for the second time in two weeks (The Army / Navy game was played there). The fans were crazy and the Eagles played well. I think the fans were a little more respectful than the Giants fans, but then again, if the Giants were playing in Philadelphia, I’m sure I would have heard some cursing and chants from the Eagles fans. But it was a good time watching the Eagles clinch a playoff spot and help the Cardinals clinch their division as well. The Cards won earlier versus Detroit and since San Fran lost, the Cardinals won the NFC West for the second year in a row.

… Continue reading Fly Eagles Fly! Redskins Struggle with Eli!

Saturday was such a nice day compared to Sunday. Albeit was cold and sunny on Saturday, but at least it wasn’t raining. The rain hit the eastern coast on Sunday for almost the entire day. So we grabbed some cheesesteaks and headed north to the Meadowlands to watch what would be a great NFC East battle between the New York Football Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. We also had a transient with us by the name of Lance who took a train to Philly and then returned to New York with us on the RV. Leave it to him and Nolan to figure out how to play quarters in a moving RV. The rain was coming down hard and we figured it would be pointless to set up everything for our tailgate. So we just parked and then linked up with some great Giants fans. We combined awnings and tailgated in the relative dryness of the over-head covers. We didn’t have a lot of time to hang out because the Giants set us up with pre-game field passes. So we bought some ponchos and headed to the stadium two hours early. Luckily, once we got on the field, the rain stopped. We walked around the field and checked out the Sunday Night Football set with Costas, Michaels, and Collinsworth only a few feet away.

… Continue reading New York, New York: Awesome Food and Late Nights

First, I will catch up on the weekends we missed do to late night shenanigans in New York City…first up: Army / Navy!

What do you get when you combine a weekend with Army / Navy, lots of friends, greenman, and cheesesteaks? Yes it was an awesome weekend in Philadelphia. After surviving the bitter cold of Cleveland, we took our time getting to Philadelphia for the annual Army / Navy game. We had been out of water for five days since it was so cold in the midwest and our poop water was frozen as well. Who would have thought black and grey water freezes in below zero temperatures! We had to find some antifreeze and some water before we hit the big city of brotherly love. Luckily we found a rest stop with running water and a dump station about 30 minutes outside of the city. We took full advantage of the situation and locked in our hose and dump pipes, then took warm showers and cooked dinner. We occupied the area for nearly two hours before we finished the trek to Philly. It was totally a successful stop and we even prepped the tailgating food while stopped.

… Continue reading BEAN TAVY!

Never did I think that any other game would be colder than a game at Lambeau Field in December. I was wrong! It was so cold in Cleveland that these three warm-blooded boys from Arizona and Florida were down-to-the-bone cold! Even with five layers on, the wind chill couldn’t be stopped. But that didn’t stop us from seeing the Browns beat the Steelers in the coldest game they have played against each other. Being apart of history is pretty awesome, but I would prefer that it was a different record we were apart of. We parked right next to the lake, literally, and we thought about jumping in to stay warm, but the aftermath of getting out of the water scared us. The lake-effect wind was fierce and we hid in the RV for a little while figuring out a game plan. Finally we braved the chill and cooked some steaks and corn and set up some music. We ventured over to a few other tailgates and had some good conversations with some veterans who even donated to our cause.

… Continue reading Dawg Pound Delivers a Chilly Win

We visited Green Bay in December to get the best experience possible at a legendary field. And it did not disappoint. The weather was chilly, actually, it was down right cold. I put on three layers and a ski jacket and I was still shivering. A few cold beverages helped take the bite out of the air though. I didn’t realize how fashionable it was to wear your hunting gear to a Packers game. I saw more orange in Lambeau than I did when we watched the Cincinnati Bengals play. But I’m sure those fans stayed warm.

We arrived early and pulled next to the two RVs already there. They were all Baltimore fans. Then a few minutes later a couple buses filled with Ravens fans pulled in. What was going on with all these Ravens fans coming to Green Bay? But that was about all the Baltimore fans we saw, and at the game, it was not recommended to be wearing the other team’s colors. I think most of them donned neutral color garbs to keep warm. The Packers fans in the parking lot were all great. We had a good time talking to the fans surrounding us and the parking lot attendants. I think I could like this town if it weren’t bitterly cold.

… Continue reading Blow Flacco! Go Pack Go!

It is amazing what you learn on a multi-month long road trip. We did something different in Indianapolis that really opened our eyes up to incredible possibilities throughout the tailgating scene. Before Indy, we have been contacting the venue and different parking agencies throughout the league to determine where we COULD park the RV. It was more of a limiting factor than a tool. But in Detroit, we had the idea that we should try to contact different fan clubs to try and join in their festivities. Who else knows how to party in their own town, than the local teams’ fanatic fans? So our first opportunity to do this was for the Colts / Titans game in Indianapolis. Through various sources and recommendations, we finally got in contact with people from the Blue Crew. And boy, was that the best move we have done since starting the trip.

… Continue reading Blue Crew Delivers as Predictably as the Colts do

The blinding realization that Nolan was talking about was quite surreal as it happened. He talked a little bit about the response we received from the FOX2 Saturday morning interview. I will provide a few more details.

It was hard to wrap our minds around waking up early on a Saturday morning for the interview. We were meeting a few people out at the local bars in downtown after driving several hours on Friday and settling at a interesting RV park near downtown. Each of us had a few friends in St. Louis so it was going to be a pretty fun weekend starting Friday night. It did not disappoint and we checked out a few bars on Washington Street finally calling it a night earlier than expected. That would not make the morning any easier, though.

… Continue reading St. Louis: The Gateway to Greatness

We currently have a couple of ways to measure our success. The most obvious is the overall theme of the trip — whether or not we make it to all 31 NFL stadiums — and we’ve managed to stay on track even with our many hicups. The second factor is a little more difficult to evaluate – donations. I don’t know that we ever had a definitive goal, but I do know that my expectations have dropped as the trip has progressed. That being said, I think we’ve finally figured it out.

… Continue reading Blinding Realization

Thanksgiving and the traditional Lions game in Detroit, first time being in Detroit for all of us, but what a great reason to be there. We were away from our families which always is a bummer, but we found some family and fit right in at our tailgating spot in the Eastern Market. We rolled into the Market about 8:30 am and it was already getting rowdy. We couldn’t have picked a better spot. As soon as we parked, we saw a few legends in the tailgating community; Joe the tailgating commissioner and Hans, founder of nflfootballstadiums.com and Quest for 31, at a nearby tailgate. So we said hello and started to set up and enjoy the camaraderie of both teams’ fans. We were right next to a local tailgate that sported a hot tub. Apparently the hot tub traces it roots back a few decades ago to tailgating at the Silverdome. The originators hosted a few local radio DJs and some strippers for the yearly Thanksgiving game in the hot tub. One year, the Silverdome asked them to never come back, and the Tubgator 2 was erected in its honor at the now-popular Eastern Market. I know this may be surprising, but I did not get in the hot tub. I was planning on doing a cannonball off the RV roof after the game, but it was gone when we got back. Maybe next year.

… Continue reading Motor City Doesn’t Disappoint on Turkey Day