AusRam
OzCardTrader
Thought there might be some interest in a bit of a travelogue of my latest US Trip. My buddy Chas and I did a US NFL trip back in 2004 and we had a ball. About two years ago we started talking about doing another one before we both get too old to enjoy ourselves! He’s a Dolphins fan, and with me being a Rams fan, it means our teams only meet every 4 years, so 2016 was looking good.
Of course the Rams moving back to LA threw a bit of a spanner in things, as it meant we’d have to be on both sides of the country to see home games. Another impact on any planning is that the NFL doesn’t release the schedule until mid April, so it’s difficult to work out anything beyond what cities might be involved until then.
When the schedule was finally released, it wasn’t looking all that great for us as at first glance the trip looked very similar to what we’d done in 2004. Not really what we wanted at all. So I sat down and chewed on the schedule and came up with a possible trip that would include some pretty great games as well as let us both see out teams at home and away. I named it the EXTREME version, just because it was. It meant both flying and driving across the country. It wasn’t going to be easy, the schedule was tight and things would have to go just right. It wasn’t going to be cheap either.
So I sent my buddy the itinerary and he agreed, it was a matter of go hard, or go home! So NFL EXTREME 2016 was born. The next 6 months would see a lot of planning with bookings made and tickets bought. In the end, it really was the trip of a lifetime. We managed to fit in 7 NFL games, 2 College Football Games, an NHL game and an NBA game all in 4 weeks. We also did 3 Stadium tours, the LA Auto Show as well as a bunch of tourist attractions. We even managed to squeeze in a few card shops along the way.
To anyone out there who’s ever considered doing a US Sports trip, my advice is to give it a go. The atmosphere at the games is amazing, and the fans we met were all pretty great, even if you’re barracking for the away team! Do your homework, and if at all possible allow extra in your budget as it can get a bit expensive at times. If anyone has any specifics, post a question, I’d be happy to offer advice if I can.
On with the show. It might take a while to get through this with Christmas and all, so please bare with me...
Of course the Rams moving back to LA threw a bit of a spanner in things, as it meant we’d have to be on both sides of the country to see home games. Another impact on any planning is that the NFL doesn’t release the schedule until mid April, so it’s difficult to work out anything beyond what cities might be involved until then.
When the schedule was finally released, it wasn’t looking all that great for us as at first glance the trip looked very similar to what we’d done in 2004. Not really what we wanted at all. So I sat down and chewed on the schedule and came up with a possible trip that would include some pretty great games as well as let us both see out teams at home and away. I named it the EXTREME version, just because it was. It meant both flying and driving across the country. It wasn’t going to be easy, the schedule was tight and things would have to go just right. It wasn’t going to be cheap either.
So I sent my buddy the itinerary and he agreed, it was a matter of go hard, or go home! So NFL EXTREME 2016 was born. The next 6 months would see a lot of planning with bookings made and tickets bought. In the end, it really was the trip of a lifetime. We managed to fit in 7 NFL games, 2 College Football Games, an NHL game and an NBA game all in 4 weeks. We also did 3 Stadium tours, the LA Auto Show as well as a bunch of tourist attractions. We even managed to squeeze in a few card shops along the way.
To anyone out there who’s ever considered doing a US Sports trip, my advice is to give it a go. The atmosphere at the games is amazing, and the fans we met were all pretty great, even if you’re barracking for the away team! Do your homework, and if at all possible allow extra in your budget as it can get a bit expensive at times. If anyone has any specifics, post a question, I’d be happy to offer advice if I can.
On with the show. It might take a while to get through this with Christmas and all, so please bare with me...