For Hans Steiniger, the toughest part of completing his “Quest for 31” wasn’t finding tickets to NFL games in 31 cities or paying his way to and from each city.
Rather, the most difficult task was actually wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey.
The Lancaster native, who now lives in Detroit, spent the past four football seasons visiting every NFL stadium. Having completed his quest with his Dec. 27 visit to New Orleans, Steiniger was rewarded by one of his sponsors with a ticket to today’s Super Bowl.
Steiniger first got the idea after moving to Detroit from Western New York a decade ago. He attended some games at Detroit’s Ford Field as well as in Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cleveland, and those trips sparked a thirst that required quenching.
“I was really fascinated by the experience that each NFL team and each NFL region has outside its stadium,” said Steiniger, a Bills fan who spent five years working at the GM plant in the Town of Tonawanda. “I wanted to know exactly what it would be like to be a home team fan for every team outside their stadium on game day.”
So began his collection of Packers cheesehead hats, Steelers terrible towels, Raiders spiked arm guards and other regional NFL memorabilia. He attended each game as a fan of the home team so as to better experience each stadium. He said he didn’t keep track of the cost but did his traveling in a 1997 Ford Explorer, with tickets coming from eBay, random strangers and, later on, at a discounted price from his sponsor.
The journey called for him to make tough choices at times, including having to wear a Dolphins jersey when he visited Miami. He reluctantly did for the sake of his quest.
“In light of what I was trying to achieve, it would not have been a pure quest for 31 if I did not wear Dolphins gear,” he said.
Along the way, he discovered where the best tailgate barbecue can be had (Houston), which team has the best fight song (Washington) and what city hosts the best postgame parties (New Orleans). He also met hundreds of fans and made plenty of friends along the way, some of whom can be seen on videos that were posted on the Web site of his sponsor, TicketCity (other videos appear on YouTube and his personal site, nflfootballstadiums.com).
Among his favorite stops was Green Bay, which he called a “mecca that every football fan needs to go to one time.” But every stop yielded its share of friendships that will have Steiniger thinking twice about who he roots for on any given Sunday.
“When you start to meet some of these fans who meet you and embrace you ... it’s hard to hate that franchise when you know people on that side of the fence,” he said.
As for the participants of today’s big game, Steiniger was impressed with both sets of fans. Indianapolis fans are among the brightest in the nation, he said, as Lucas Oil Stadium falls so silent when the Colts are on offense that quarterback Peyton Manning could be heard calling signals from Steiniger’s seat in the last row of the upper deck. And despite the Saints’ prolonged losing streak, New Orleans are among the league’s most loyal, he said.
“Even after a loss, they were upbeat,” said Steiniger, who also cited New Orleans as a particularly family-friendly NFL city.
Steiniger’s quest will only be complete until next fall, as the new home of New York’s Jets and Giants will open for the 2010 season. Steiniger plans to be there, as well as anywhere else that a good time can be found on a Sunday. But, no matter where he travels, he considers Buffalo’s football fans nearly impossible to beat.
“You have folks that go to church Sundays wearing Bills gear and a priest who prays for the health of the team,” he said of Western New Yorkers. “Bigger cities don’t have that feel ... it’s tough to match the passion of a place like Buffalo.”
Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.
Lifestyle
Related Photos
-
Bill Haber
Discussion
LIFESTYLE: WNY native gets Super Bowl ticket after visiting every NFL stadium
- Lifestyle
-
-
Family ties come in time
When it comes to genealogy, all you need to do sometimes is catch a break.
-
Imagination is a wonderful — and scary — thing
Tiger, squirrel, what's the difference when you're 2?
-
The law of conservation of energy — with kids
Watching the thundering herd pass us, the father shook his head ... and called to the children:
“How can you have so much energy when I’m so tired?”
We looked at each other and laughed, each then, perhaps, seeing our future in the tired parents. To this day, eight years later, there are still moments when we look at our kids, then each other, and repeat those words. -
Albany man visits WNY-based hockey legend
An Albany-area man was the guest of hockey legend Scotty Bowman when the Stanley Cup made what seems like its nearly annual trek to Bowman’s Amherst home.
-
NT-based service offers support, counseling to cancer patients
There used to be a time when the word “cancer” wasn’t even in most people’s vocabularies.
Rather than utter the disease’s name, according to Hillary Ruchlin, people would use the term “the big C” to denote what illness they were talking about.
Times have changed for the better, said Ruchlin, executive director of the Cancer Wellness Center in North Tonawanda. People now know that there is hope. -
Parenting can be easy to say but hard to do
The parental saying is so commonly used that it’s almost become cliché: “I would do anything for my children.”
But what they don’t tell you is that, some days, it’s harder than others to fulfill that mantra. -
Green Day is Rock Hall shoo-in
Green Day will one day see the inside of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — and I don't mean merely as a visitor.
-
Tonawanda native delivers some of TV world’s biggest scoops
When people want the latest big news about the goings-on in the world of television, they generally turn to the New York Times, Variety and other major media outlets.
When the reporters at those outlets want to get informed, they have been known to turn to a one-man operation that operates out of a small Florida bedroom. -
When a dad needs to be a dad
I don't condone the actions of vigilante fathers ... but I understand.
-
Reeves’ Buffalo film tests well
Early indications are that the Keanu Reeves that filmed throughout the Buffalo-Niagara region late last fall will be worth watching.
- More Lifestyle Headlines
-
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
