TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

30 NHL Games In 30 Days? No Problem For This Fan

ADVERTISEMENT

By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 23, 2007

Map: The Entire Journey

ATLANTA - Steve Williamson rolled over in his hotel bed and squinted to take a blurry peek at the buzzing alarm clock screaming at him. As with so many others, Williamson slammed his hand down in an attempt to hit the right button and sneak in nine more minutes of sleep.

His nine-minute snooze, however, turned into an hour-long nap, sending Williamson into a frenzy. He had 45 minutes to pack, brush his teeth, return his rental car and get on an airplane to make his flight from San Jose to Vancouver.

That happened Nov. 14. It was Day 19 of an amazing 30-day trip that started Oct. 26 in Detroit and will end Saturday in Tampa. By the time he gets into a limousine in Orlando on Saturday morning and drives to the St. Pete Times Forum to see the Lightning play the New Jersey Devils, Williamson will have seen his 30th hockey game in 30 nights in all 30 NHL arenas.

Williamson's morning sleep-through in San Jose was the closest call he's had to date of disrupting his month-long journey across North America. No weather issues, no airplane delays, no traffic jams (he tries to stay as close to the airport as he can). And, he's been in his seat for the opening faceoff of every game, although he's cut it close in a couple of cases. Not even a bout with food poisoning while in Edmonton on Saturday could spoil the trip.

"I've been really fortunate, knock on wood," Williamson said Monday in Atlanta, Game No. 25 of his trip. "I haven't even had any kind of a cold or the sniffles because you can't really fly when you have that, and that was one of my concerns when putting this trip together."

Idea Began 6 Years Ago

The idea for Williamson's trip came in 2001 after the Lightning season-ticket holder traveled from Japan to California to take in Tampa Bay's three-game swing to San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles. At the time, he was working with Universal Studios in Tokyo. Considering he traveled 11,000 miles for that trip, a 30-game in 30-night trip didn't sound too daunting.

Now working in marketing for the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau, Williamson built up enough vacation time to plot a schedule, build an itinerary and book his flights. He has paid for virtually everything out of his own pocket - although he's used frequent flier miles, hotel reward points and family and friends' houses to keep costs down. By the time he sleeps in his own bed late Saturday, he estimates he will have spent around $8,000 out of pocket.

Word of his trip began to spread as members of the media heard of his unprecedented trip, mainly from a Web site (www.30gamesin30nights .com) he originally constructed to keep family and friends updated with daily reports and pictures. Williamson has had stories written about him in national newspapers such as The New York Times and Canada's The Globe and Mail. Canada's TSN television network gave him some airtime.

When he arrived at the airport in Edmonton on Nov. 15, a pair of camera crews unexpectedly were waiting to follow him around. Williamson has conducted interviews on radio stations, including during games, and on team television broadcasts in Philadelphia and Vancouver. A camera crew from the NHL Network also spent time with him in Philadelphia.

"In Canada, I was just amazed at the level of interest there was," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't be surprised because they are hockey fans, but not spending much time up there, I was taken aback by how much coverage there is."

Has Enjoyed Meeting Other Fans

With all the exposure he has received, Williamson said he has met many fellow hockey fans who wanted to talk to him about his trip.

"Many of the games that I've gone to, I have had fans offer me their tickets to the game," he said. "Season ticket holders who have told their wife, 'Hey honey, stay home; I want to go to the game with this guy tonight.' And for me, that's been my favorite way of seeing these games, experiencing these games with the people who know the teams. They know the ins and outs of the arenas. So I have enjoyed those games the most."

One of those who offered Williamson a ticket was Toronto resident Geoffrey Fulton, who read about Williamson's trip on a blog by Globe and Mail writer James Mirtle. Fulton contacted Williamson via e-mail and offered to take him to the Maple Leafs game Tuesday.

"I took a four-game road trip myself and left on Christmas Day to see games in Carolina, Atlanta, Sunrise and then Tampa, so I'm a bit crazy myself and I totally understand the passion needed to pull off something like this," said Fulton, a broker for Condos and Castles Realty in downtown Toronto and Leafs season-ticket holder since 1999. "I know that Toronto is a tough ticket to get and I figured he would end up burning a lot of money. I usually take my clients, but I just wanted the chance to take Steve and make sure he had a good time in Toronto."

Williamson's trip - which included a Thanksgiving game in Nashville where he was hoping to find a turkey leg in the concession area - concludes with a pair of games involving the Lightning, tonight in Raleigh, N.C., against the Hurricanes and Saturday at home against New Jersey. He will be a guest of the Lightning on Saturday and he will be joined by 10 friends and family members for dinner and the game. He will also kick off the game with the "Let's Play Hockey" cheer before the opening faceoff.

After the game, Williamson will head back to his home in Orlando for what he hopes is a restful night of sleep, but he won't have much time to recover. After kicking his feet up and watching some football on television Sunday afternoon, it's right back to work Monday morning where he is back in the business of trying to convince others to take their next trip to Orlando.

Just don't expect any kind of a marketing campaign centered around a 30-day trip.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT