Andy Scheidler
sports@thefranklinpress.com
It all started in 2001 from a commercial.
Michael Mason and Jimmy Pickens were watching football on a Sunday in Franklin when a Mastercard commercial aired.
“Standing room tickets: $14,” an announcer’s voice said over video of Camden Yards. “O’s jersey: $130. Crab cake: $7. Twelve stadiums down, 18 to go: Priceless.”
The commercial showed two male friends enjoying a game. Pickens and Mason immediately agreed it would be neat to visit every stadium. Although it was a baseball commercial, they set their sights on football.
“I think that commercial is what started a lot of people wanting to visit stadiums,” Mason said.
Just over 18 years later, Mason completed the goal he and Pickens set as ambitious 20-somethings. He’s now seen all 32 NFL teams play in their home stadium.
Mason visited his final stadium Oct. 27. He watched the San Francisco 49ers blow out the Carolina Panthers.
It was a very long trip to see only one game.
“If I was smarter, Atlanta or Carolina could’ve been the last one,” Mason said, laughing.
Like all of his previous excursions, Mason chose ground transportation. He’s never flown in an airplane.
“I guess you’d call it a fear,” he said, “getting up in the air.”
Mason and Pickens attended their first NFL game Dec. 30, 2001 between the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. Pickens was a Redskins fan and picked that game to be their first.
Together, they visited 14 NFL stadiums.
Pickens died from health complications a few years ago, leaving Mason to complete the journey solo.
Relief was one of his biggest emotions after crossing the last stadium off the list.
“It felt great,” Mason said. “There was part of it missing because Jimmy passed away. But it was like, finally, it’s over.”
Highlights
Mason, whose nickname is “Shag,” has watched some of the game’s greatest players, including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. He’s also been fortunate enough to witness some incredible and historic moments.
When he went to Seattle (he took a train), it was during the referee lockout and replacement refs officiated the game. The Monday Night Football contest ended with the “Fail Mary,” when what appeared to be an interception by the Packers was ruled to be a shared possession and a game-winning TD for the Seahawks.
Speaking of the Packers, Lambeau Field is his favorite stadium.
“I loved Lambeau more than anything,” Mason said. “The history. There’s people that actually live right across the street from the stadium. They just sit on their porch and then walk across the street to the game.”
His least favorite stadium is Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, aka “The Black Hole.” Although he said it was a wild and crazy environment, the stadium was “rundown” and a “cookie cutter” that really wasn’t meant for football or baseball.
That stadium will close after this season, when the Raiders move to Las Vegas. It’s the last stadium that shared baseball and football operations.
Another highlight was in Detroit, watching former Franklin standout Shawn Bryson play for the Lions.
“I got to see somebody from Franklin play an NFL game,” he said.
During the game in Green Bay, which was in 2007, Mason witnessed Favre tie Dan Marino’s all-time touchdown passes record.
“He broke it the next week in Minnesota,” Mason said. “Everybody in the stadium was hoping he’d break it that week but he didn’t.”
His all-time favorite game came February 2009 when Mason drove to Tampa, Florida, for Super Bowl XLIII.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, his favorite team, beat the Arizona Cardinals. In a first-hand experience column, Mason wrote that it was “the greatest day of my life.”
Big changes
Being the journey took nearly two decades to complete, many things have changed.
Several of the stadiums in which Mason watched games are now closed, and new stadiums are set to open next year in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Mason watched games in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, New York, San Diego and St. Louis, which no longer play in those stadiums.
He and Pickens spent $55 apiece to sit in the nosebleeds for their first game in New Orleans. A similar ticket would cost well over $100 now.
Inflation has affected prices, while technology has vastly changed since then as well. The two friends would rely on an atlas while traveling to find the right roads. Now, Mason punches in where he wants to go on his phone and it gives him directions.
Similarly, photography has also changed mightily. They used to take pictures and get them developed after getting back to Franklin. Now, Mason can post a photo to his social media page and his friends can instantly follow his travels.
Traveling adventures
Each year Mason and Pickens would eagerly wait for NFL schedules to be released. They’d plan their vacations around going to a couple games. They also tried to pair it with other events, such as watching a baseball game on a Friday, a college football game on a Saturday and then an NFL game on Sunday.
Mason estimates he’s probably put over 100,000 miles on vehicles traveling to watch sporting events. His most recent trek to California topped 2,400 miles.
In addition to rooting for the Redskins, Pickens was a big Nationals fan. On the last day of Mason’s journey back from California, the Nationals won the World Series.
“If he was still here,” Mason said, “we’d of had to stop and watch the game somewhere.”
The friends would tailgate before games and meet other fans. Typically, a conversation with a stranger – curious of Mason’s accent – goes something like this.
“Where are you from?”
“North Carolina.”
“So you’re a fan of (the home team at that stadium)?”
“No.”
“So why are you here?”
Mason then explains his voyage.
He’s met other fans who have done the same thing. One Philadelphia Eagles fan he met had a similar goal of attending every NFL stadium, but she wanted to take it a step farther and watch her favorite team play in every stadium.
During his travels, he’s also attended several NBA and NHL games. He’s been to 22 of the 30 MLB stadiums.
With only eight baseball stadiums left (Detroit, Toronto, Phoenix and all five California teams), you can guess what his next mission will be.
“I got football out the way,” Mason said with a grin. “Now I can work on baseball.”