Goal to go

 Last Wednesday, I told you about achieving my goal of seeing an MLB game in each of 30 ballparks.

Today, my post will focus on a similar--albeit slightly different--pursuit that I also wrapped up during the blog's hiatus and it is not baseball-related but focuses on football instead.

Even though I never coached a game in this sport, the focus seems fitting on the eve of the 2026 NFL draft.

For 15 years -- from 2000 to 2015 -- we had season tickets to the Tennessee Titans. At first, it was an exciting pursuit. The stadium was relatively new, the kids were small and the Titans were coming off their near-victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Over time, we saw the Titans' fortunes rise and fall and rise again. All the while, our ones were growing up. 

It was fun to make the drive over to Nashville. We'd go to four or five games a year and then sell the remaining tickets or give them to friends.

By the 2010s, however, the Titans had, again fallen on hard times. As the kids were reaching high school age, they had busy lives and were less able to make the trip and it became harder and harder to place my unused tickets. So, eventually, as hard as it was to do so, we let them go.

We'd still occasionally go to a game (usually springing for more expensive seats) and, along the way, I saw most of the NFL teams play the Titans. In fact, I saw every AFC team at least once (and my childhood favorites, the Raiders, a number of times).

I also saw most of the NFC teams play at the Titans but, occasionally, I'd miss one and, in the NFL schedule rotation, that would mean they wouldn't come back to Nashville for another eight years. And in some cases, I missed them twice. 

So, in order to complete the goal of seeing all 32 NFL teams play at least once, I ventured to Atlanta (saw the Falcons host the Bucs) and I drove to Carolina to see the distant (but current Super Bowl champs) Seattle Seahawks.

Then, COVID came and I put the pursuit on pause. And at that, I was one NFL team short of completing the quest - the elusive Detroit Lions.

Once the COVID crisis passed, and Lisa and I were doing some September travel to check off some of the MLB ballparks I needed, I noticed that, in September of 2022, I could, in essence, get a buy one/get one when we were in Minneapolis to see the Minnesota Twins. Catch the baseball game on Saturday night. Do the NFL on Sunday...where the Vikings were hosting...the Detroit Lions.

Bingo. Voila. #32. Call it fourth and goal to go!

My observations from that day:

• NFL stadiums have become more posh over the time since I first saw my first NFL game - Titans hosting the Chiefs
• I was, by far, the oldest person around me
• By the time I left US Bank Stadium that day, I was ready to call this quest complete.

Not saying I wouldn't see another NFL game at some point. In fact, the Titans are buidling a new posh stadium of their own. Might be cool to experience that at some point.

But on that sunny day in the fall of '22, I was happy to check the final box. And, as was true with the MLB quest, felt blessed to have the resources and wherewithal to pull it off.

JG