I have just finished reading a book on football programmes. I know it wouldnt be a normal topic of conversation in a travelblog, but bear with me. The plot of the book - if you can call it as such - features a transatlantic relocation and a choice. A difficult choice! Which of your extensive programme collection have you space to bring with you. You envisage a few hundred in a small suitcase, but are allocated a mere Tupperware box. The plastic container will ensure they arrive in the same pristine condition - you havent kept in good condition all these years just to add unnecessary creases at this late stage in the day. The disadvantage is the box has a capacity of precisely 32. What would I do in similar circumstances? How would I choose which to bring with me? In a year where the global pandemic has thwarted my plans to go more places and see more sport, it seemed a good question to ask. On a damp and windy Thursday morning, it seemed a very good question. It was also a good excuse to explore the depths of cupboards upstairs to unearth those treasured memories.
a multitude of reasons to travel. My two big passions are sport and travel. What better than if you them? Travel to a new country or a new city, watch some sport and see the sights at the same time. If you can snaffle a programme or some form of matchday magazine to mark the event, so much the better. It helps with the memories. What better way than to justify a 2000 mile round trip for a draw, than to see some sights as well? Football is always the primary objective, but if that is not at hand seek out the alternatives. It doesnt have to be a major, top class event. The crowd number is even largely immaterial. In fact, large crowds can restrict movement inside a stadium and make it mighty tricky to get a ticket in the first place. Of course if an opportunity presents itself to see top class athletes of any description, you take it. If Dan Marino, Troy Aikman or John Elway are playing down the road, you head straight over. Well you do, if you are me?
the space of the next years or so, clocked up a visit to 33 states. As a kid who had been nowhere much and had to be content with looking at an atlas, it amazes me that I can write 33 states. It goes without saying, there would be some sport within those visits. Sky Sports (aided by the BBC) in the UK has now transformed American Football into a major spectacle, but at the turn of the 1990s it was Channel 4 who were the trailblazers in the coverage. A highlights package was fronted by a former rugby player turned place kicker from St Albans, Mick Luckhurst, whose job it was to explain the finer points of the action to an UK TV audience. I was glued. Mick knew his onions. He had a 6 season career with the Atlanta Falcons. At the time of his retirement , he was record points scorer for the franchise. In somewhat unusual circumstances, Mick even scored a touchdown on a fake field goal play in 1982. In a sport dominated by statistics, he maintains a 100% rushing attempt record. Number of rushes - 1. Touchdowns - 1. The first game
highlights I had seen on TV were an event in themselves, played out in huge stadiums with huge crowds. After deciding to avoid a local club for my home grown football allegiance, I stayed local with my American Football choice. The Cleveland Browns it was then! It would take a couple of years before I could persuade the Other Half,, that she wanted to spend part of her holiday entitlement in an industrial area that had seen better days. This was an especially relevant conversation, given that we lived and worked in an industrial area that had seen better days for the rest of the year! The Cleveland Municipal Stadium would have to wait.
After a trip to California and Arizona in 1989 on purely sightseeing mission, it was time to spread our wings a bit. Time for a road trip. We touched down in Texas. There were no specific plans - just a car and a few motel guides.
