The Greatest Bucket List Quest

OK, so it's probably not actually the Greatest Bucket List Quest of all time, or maybe not even my own Personal Bucket List Quest of my time (mainly because I actually never think of the world or my future in that way). As Vermont's Leading CFL Fan (patent pending) I'm always, usually unsuccessfully, trying to drag my friends to ever more games across the border.  Actually, I think I'm finally winning them over (I mean, the Canadian Thanksgiving Alouettes game is a tradition and we do have an annual Grey Cup party). This summer, as recorded on the blog, Kevin Andrews and I attended a Hamilton Tiger-Cats game and had a great time, and that solidified an idea that I've been playing around with for some time: seeing a game in every CFL stadium.  Now, granted, there are only nine, so it's not the same as visiting every minor league baseball field, but it's a unique challenge nonetheless.  OK, two down, Montreal and Hamilton, and seven to go. My goal for next year will be to knock off Ottawa REDBLACKS and Toronto Argonauts, which shouldn't be too difficult, and then I would have covered the entire Eastern Conference. Then things become more complicated.  Maybe in 2020 I could combine Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders games; Winnipeg and REgina aren't really that close, although I guess they're close by Canadian standards.  I could fly into one, rent a car, and travel to the other, which is made easier by the unique CFL schedule wherein they routinely play games on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. That would leave 2021 for a trip to Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders games.  Again, I'd fly into one of the cities, rent a car, and make an Alberta road trip.  Of course, I'd probably not tell fans at either game what I'm doing because the teams are bitter enemies. Unless the CFL decides to add a team in Halifax (there's some talk of it), I would then be able to finish the quest in 2022 with a BC Lions game in Vancouver. My girlfriend thinks I should take my impending sabbatical and knock off all nine in one glorious road trip, which is actually a solid idea.  It would potentially make an interesting book about the relationship between Canada and America and I could interview folks along the way.  Of course, to sell this to the sabbatical committee I really should try and publish a couple articles and flesh out the idea for a  book.  Hmmmm.

The map is a little misleading because the icon for the REDBLACKS makes it seems like they're in Quebec, when obviously Ottawa is in Ontario, but you can get a sense of the scale of things.  Not since Ibn Battuta will such an unplanned trip turn out so to be so epic. If the CFL ever actually puts that team in Halifax then I'll get to see even more of Canada.