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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.
