It was a group of young guys talking about the stadiums they had been to that naturally evolved into one-upping and ultimately a bet as to see who could get to all the FBS stadiums first. It seemed daunting so we made it team event, two versus two. I was paired with my friend Shea (aka Shady) against two others, Steve (aka Momo) and Pat.

We grandfathered previous visits to our totals and we counted any games where we had actually played in the stadium against that team. Thanks to the University of Buffalo jumping up to FBS, my Division III game against the Bulls still counted. Momo had played at Montana State so he picked up a few more than me. While Pat and Shady hadn’t played college football, they were still avid fans. In the end, we all started on even ground. However, since I was older and my two sons hit college much earlier than the other guys, I quickly begin to establish a big lead and decided to create this website. It wasn’t much later that I decided to hit them all myself.

Do I go alone?

Of course, I almost never go to games by myself. I have three brothers living on the West Coast, my Dad lives in Florida, and my sons have been Gulf Coast and East Coast residents at one time or another. If I am not meeting them at a game, I have strong group of core buddies that often come with me. If that bunch fails me, my wife will often, grudgingly, go to a game with me – although she didn’t put up much of an argument when I suggested she come with me to see the Warriors of Hawaii. However, there is the occasional time where I have to go alone. While almost everywhere I go folks are friendly, the ability to find a spot to tailgate with others while traveling was the genesis of developing our tailgating network. It is not easy, nor do I recommend, packing your tailgate grill in your carry-on bag. When going to “far from home” games, having a local connection can make all the difference.

Who do I root for?

I sat the bench for four years at then Division III Football power Mercyhurst College. With a graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon, I did not have any real allegiance to any BCS school or conference. I grew up in Pennsylvania, so Pitt and Penn State were always favorites. One of my sons went to Virginia Tech, so I have adopted the Hokies as well.

What’s the best stadium?

I get asked this a lot. I like to say there’s tiers of schools. The top ones for me include, in no particular order, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas A&M, Army and Virginia Tech. If you really want to know about a particular stadium, see the reviews.