GaryMrMets
05-14-2005, 10:39 PM
From Petco to Arco to Invesco: the ultimate sports roadtrippers
By JOHN WAWROW
.c The Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Peter Farrell and Andrew Kulyk first outlined their vision of the great North American roadtrip in a setting where wacky ideas usually are hatched: In a bar over beer.
``What if,'' they said, ``we could visit all 30 NHL arenas?''
With each round of drinks, the two friends from Buffalo expanded the plan: They would attend a home game of every NHL, NFL, NBA and major league baseball team.
They planned to visit RFK Stadium on Friday night to see the Washington Nationals play at home. Then, Farrell and Kulyk will have done them all.
From Arrowhead Pond (Stop 25) to Arrowhead Stadium (Stop 51); from Petco to Arco to Invesco; Joe Louis, Raymond James and Ralph Wilson; from Yankee to Fenway, Wrigley to Dodger. They've been to Fields and a Fieldhouse, Domes, Yards and Gardens, Centers and Centres, Parks, a Place and a Palace.
That's 122 franchises, 107 venues, 49 cities and counting. They finished their original plan in December 2002 with a stop at Detroit's Ford Field, but the journey continues to include teams that have relocated - such as the Nationals - or moved into new homes.
``It's weird looking at RFK Stadium in the first month of the season, looking at the building and seeing the highlights,'' Farrell said. ``It's like, `Oh my gosh, we haven't been in that building.' Something just seems wrong with that.''
``Yeah, you get this empty feeling,'' Kulyk added. ``You want to get there as soon as possible.''
Farrell is a 35-year-old mail carrier, while Kulyk is 47 and owns an exterminating company.
The inspiration for their odyssey began at the 1999 NHL All-Star game in Tampa, after a Florida swing in which they saw the Buffalo Sabres play the Lightning and Florida Panthers.
``We had place mats sitting there. We flipped them over and grabbed a pen,'' Kulyk said, recalling how they began mapping their journey. ``So when we got back home, we printed the whole thing out and kind of shook our heads and said, `This is not going to happen. Come on, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, do you know how much it's going to cost?'''
Not as much as expected.
It helps living in Buffalo, where they are within a 10-hour drive of nearly 50 franchises. Plus, they had a head start: They had already done eight teams when they embarked on their mission.
``I've always said, it's insanely more impossible to do this for a guy living in Montana or the Rocky Mountains,'' Farrell said.
They were also creative in finding cheap flights, taking advantage of hotel and air-mile point plans and coordinating trips to take in as many games as possible. Take, for example, their West Coast jaunt in January 2000, when they saw five games in four days, squeezing in the Lakers during the day and the Mighty Ducks that night.
They figure they spent about $25,000 each to complete the trek. Along the way, they befriended another tandem, from New York City, who have matched their mark. They also know of many trekkers who concentrate on one-sport journeys.
Farrell and Kulyk also attract interest through their Web site (www.thesportsroadtrip.com) on which they post a log of their journeys and rate the facilities.
Their all-time favorite is the Pacers' Conseco Fieldhouse for its design, downtown location and tributes to Indiana's basketball history. Green Bay's Lambeau Field is a close second. Among their least favorites, the San Francisco 49ers' Monster Park (formerly known as Candlestick Park) was knocked for terrible sightlines, few tributes to the team's past and ``the smell of garlic fries hangs everywhere.''
For Farrell, it's the travel that's most satisfying, a chance to experience America's diversity.
``You live in Buffalo, I don't know if you really see how much the culture changes across the country,'' he said. ``Crossing the river into Southern Ontario is a lot more similar than say, going to Nashville or Salt Lake City.''
They've had their car towed in Cleveland and were welcomed to Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field by Devil Rays principal owner Vincent Naimoli. Farrell won $2,500 playing 50-cent slots at a Detroit casino. They usually root for the home team and have paid anywhere from $4 (Florida Marlins, Pro Player Stadium) to $100 (Game 2 of Sabres-Stars 1999 Stanley Cup playoff series in Dallas) for a ticket.
They've seen their share of memorable moments, such as when receiver Terrell Owens, then with San Francisco, pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and signed the football to celebrate a touchdown against Seattle (Stop 115, Qwest Field).
The most memorable is also the one that hurts most, Stop 20. They were in the stands at now-Titans Coliseum to witness the Music City Miracle, when Tennessee defeated the Buffalo Bills on a game-ending kickoff return in the 2000 AFC Wild Card playoff.
They walked back to the hotel in silence. Then they went to a Nashville Predators game later that night.
They're already looking to next year when the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Cardinals are scheduled to open new facilities.
If they build it, Farrell and Kulyk will come.
``At the time, it was a lark,'' Kulyk said, recalling the first planning session. ``But now, I could not see myself ever abandoning this.''
And no, if you're asking, neither is married.
``That helps,'' Kulyk said. ``Can you imagine: `Honey, I can't do the screens this weekend. I'm going to Calgary.''
05/12/05 17:37 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
By JOHN WAWROW
.c The Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Peter Farrell and Andrew Kulyk first outlined their vision of the great North American roadtrip in a setting where wacky ideas usually are hatched: In a bar over beer.
``What if,'' they said, ``we could visit all 30 NHL arenas?''
With each round of drinks, the two friends from Buffalo expanded the plan: They would attend a home game of every NHL, NFL, NBA and major league baseball team.
They planned to visit RFK Stadium on Friday night to see the Washington Nationals play at home. Then, Farrell and Kulyk will have done them all.
From Arrowhead Pond (Stop 25) to Arrowhead Stadium (Stop 51); from Petco to Arco to Invesco; Joe Louis, Raymond James and Ralph Wilson; from Yankee to Fenway, Wrigley to Dodger. They've been to Fields and a Fieldhouse, Domes, Yards and Gardens, Centers and Centres, Parks, a Place and a Palace.
That's 122 franchises, 107 venues, 49 cities and counting. They finished their original plan in December 2002 with a stop at Detroit's Ford Field, but the journey continues to include teams that have relocated - such as the Nationals - or moved into new homes.
``It's weird looking at RFK Stadium in the first month of the season, looking at the building and seeing the highlights,'' Farrell said. ``It's like, `Oh my gosh, we haven't been in that building.' Something just seems wrong with that.''
``Yeah, you get this empty feeling,'' Kulyk added. ``You want to get there as soon as possible.''
Farrell is a 35-year-old mail carrier, while Kulyk is 47 and owns an exterminating company.
The inspiration for their odyssey began at the 1999 NHL All-Star game in Tampa, after a Florida swing in which they saw the Buffalo Sabres play the Lightning and Florida Panthers.
``We had place mats sitting there. We flipped them over and grabbed a pen,'' Kulyk said, recalling how they began mapping their journey. ``So when we got back home, we printed the whole thing out and kind of shook our heads and said, `This is not going to happen. Come on, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, do you know how much it's going to cost?'''
Not as much as expected.
It helps living in Buffalo, where they are within a 10-hour drive of nearly 50 franchises. Plus, they had a head start: They had already done eight teams when they embarked on their mission.
``I've always said, it's insanely more impossible to do this for a guy living in Montana or the Rocky Mountains,'' Farrell said.
They were also creative in finding cheap flights, taking advantage of hotel and air-mile point plans and coordinating trips to take in as many games as possible. Take, for example, their West Coast jaunt in January 2000, when they saw five games in four days, squeezing in the Lakers during the day and the Mighty Ducks that night.
They figure they spent about $25,000 each to complete the trek. Along the way, they befriended another tandem, from New York City, who have matched their mark. They also know of many trekkers who concentrate on one-sport journeys.
Farrell and Kulyk also attract interest through their Web site (www.thesportsroadtrip.com) on which they post a log of their journeys and rate the facilities.
Their all-time favorite is the Pacers' Conseco Fieldhouse for its design, downtown location and tributes to Indiana's basketball history. Green Bay's Lambeau Field is a close second. Among their least favorites, the San Francisco 49ers' Monster Park (formerly known as Candlestick Park) was knocked for terrible sightlines, few tributes to the team's past and ``the smell of garlic fries hangs everywhere.''
For Farrell, it's the travel that's most satisfying, a chance to experience America's diversity.
``You live in Buffalo, I don't know if you really see how much the culture changes across the country,'' he said. ``Crossing the river into Southern Ontario is a lot more similar than say, going to Nashville or Salt Lake City.''
They've had their car towed in Cleveland and were welcomed to Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field by Devil Rays principal owner Vincent Naimoli. Farrell won $2,500 playing 50-cent slots at a Detroit casino. They usually root for the home team and have paid anywhere from $4 (Florida Marlins, Pro Player Stadium) to $100 (Game 2 of Sabres-Stars 1999 Stanley Cup playoff series in Dallas) for a ticket.
They've seen their share of memorable moments, such as when receiver Terrell Owens, then with San Francisco, pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and signed the football to celebrate a touchdown against Seattle (Stop 115, Qwest Field).
The most memorable is also the one that hurts most, Stop 20. They were in the stands at now-Titans Coliseum to witness the Music City Miracle, when Tennessee defeated the Buffalo Bills on a game-ending kickoff return in the 2000 AFC Wild Card playoff.
They walked back to the hotel in silence. Then they went to a Nashville Predators game later that night.
They're already looking to next year when the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Cardinals are scheduled to open new facilities.
If they build it, Farrell and Kulyk will come.
``At the time, it was a lark,'' Kulyk said, recalling the first planning session. ``But now, I could not see myself ever abandoning this.''
And no, if you're asking, neither is married.
``That helps,'' Kulyk said. ``Can you imagine: `Honey, I can't do the screens this weekend. I'm going to Calgary.''
05/12/05 17:37 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.