I love sports. I always, have whether as a competitor or a spectator. I owe much of that to my dad. My parents divorced when I was young. Most of my quality time with my dad was spent on weekend visits. Almost every weekend my brother and I were at sporting events. Usually we were watching my older brother wrestle or play football. We weren’t limited to that though. There were cross country races, swim meets, basketball games and track and field events. Watching sports was how we bonded. It has had a lasting impact, particularly on my kid brother and I. Our spouses are amazed by how we can find joy in watching any sports – if they are keeping score, we will watch.
Perhaps that’s why my journey to hit the over 130 college FBS stadiums has never gotten stale. I always enjoy going to the games and usually I have great company. I have numerous friends and family in my “Five Game Club”, Summer is when I start sending out feelers for folks who may want to join me for a game. Obviously, some games are more popular than others. It is not hard to convince folks to go to University of Michigan as an example. However, Central Michigan takes a little bit more marketing. While not 100% effective, more often or not, I find someone to join me. Unfortunately for me, it is unlikely to be my Pops. At his age, travel beyond a couple hours becomes challenging. He resides in Florida, and we conquered much of the stadiums together. If going to FAU and FIU doubleheader isn’t a measure of love, I don’t know what is. In any case, I am sure he will be there in spirit with me this season.
The joy of those shared experiences has led us at somanystadiums.com to expand our tour t-shirt offerings beyond our traditional shirt listing all of the stadiums. We have now added several “Conference” Tour t-shirts to the website. Given that conferences are in constant realignment, we have created both current conference tours and classic tours. Ranging from eight to twelve games, it is the kind of schedule you can easily tackle with your dad (or mom). And if you are like me, at some point, finding gifts for your parents becomes a real challenge. Pair this shirt with future game tickets and you have years of predetermined birthday and Father’s Day gifts.
If this sounds too daunting, there’s an alternative. We have added rivalry insult t-shirts also. Depending on your Pop’s sense of humor, these can also be a great gift. Even if that’s not exactly what Dad may want, I highly recommend you visit the site to check out some of the shirts. Finding insults that fit each school isn’t always easy and honestly, some are better hits than others. At least one of these shirts will make you chuckle. Share the joke with your dad, I am sure he will enjoy it. And, if we have insulted you, well, that was not entirely unintentional.