A quick glance at the football schedule

In the early spring, I spend a lot of time looking at the baseball schedule, planning trips--scheming really. I'm nearly finished with the first objective of my ballpark mission: to see every team play a home game. I may very well complete that next season.

When the football schedule follows a month or so later, well, I start drooling. With baseball, the main challenge has been figuring out how to align multiple games in the same trip. For example, wanting to see both Angels and Dodgers home games this year, I was restricted to one weekend where they were both home. With football, there are only 17 weekends with which to work, and holidays and weather start becoming a factor later in the season.

However, during the four weekends where the MLB and NFL seasons overlap, a savvy fan starts noting weekends where, say, the Tampa Bay Rays and Bucs, the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos, the St. Louis Cardinals and Rams, etc, are both home. And, if one is a fan of the NHL too, well, then one may take note of that single weekend where both the Penguins and Steelers are both in Pittsburgh.

I've seen just over half of the NFL teams play a home game, and getting to each stadium will take a while. With one baseball/football weekend booked, I next eyed that October 15/16 weekend as a time to scratch the Steelers off the to-do list and catch some hockey in the process. Unfortunately, these combos don't help me check off football stadiums any quicker. Then I turned the calendar over.

In week 9, the Jets are at Buffalo. It's kind of hard for me to understand how I've not made it to a Bills game yet. Regardless, it's a 1:00 game. Rather interestingly, the Ravens are in Pittsburgh that evening for an 8:20 kickoff. Wow, two games in one day? Is that possible without a private jet? Google maps says that it's a 3:20ish drive. So, if the Bills game ends at 4:00 then I could just high-tail it to Pittsburgh. Without traffic, it's, well, no, not a no-brainer, but it is very tempting. Having to contend with traffic leaving Ralph Wilson Stadium at the start of the trip and heading to Heinz Field at the end of the trip, however, I could be looking at a considerably longer journey.

So, that means I need to consult with my friends who are Bills and Steelers fans for input and make an intelligent decis...wait, what? Huh?! The Eagles are hosting Monday Night Football the next night?

Three stadiums in one weekend? That can't be done, can it?

The question, HKHWR, may be whether or not you are prepared to enter enemy territory.

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