FOR PETE BAROODY ('99), pigskins and Guinness are not just part of a Sunday afternoon tailgate menu. Baroody took his love of football on the road in a "Super Stadium Tour" and made the Guinness World Records book.

Many football fans may feel their love of the game qualifies them as an NFL extremist, but Baroody alone holds Guinness' Most Ardent NFL Fan title.

"I first came up with the idea when I saw a Redskins schedule, and I thought about following them as they played each game home and away," Baroody says. He then fine tuned his idea and wrote to the people at Guinness. In order to set his world record, Baroody had to see every National Football League team play in its home stadium. This task turned out to be harder than Baroody could have ever imagined.

Baroody teaches at the Blessed Sacrament School in Alexandria, Va., and coaches junior varsity basketball at The Potomac School in McLean. He says that he made his first attempt to complete the NFL trip as a junior at JMU. "That one didn't pan out, but my dream just wouldn't die. I knew it would haunt me if I didn't try again," he says. Baroody realized he would have to plan strategically in order to make each venue. "I spent every April from then on working with the newly released schedule to see if it was possible," he says.

After careful planning, Baroody began his record-setting tour in the 2002-03 season. In a whirlwind 16 weeks, he traveled 30,000 miles through 42 states and saw 33 games in 31 stadiums. He spent about $10,000 on gas, travel, lodging, food and tickets (which came from ticket brokers, eBay, scalpers and family members' help). The meager living conditions and monetary setbacks all seemed worth it when Baroody thought about finally achieving his longtime goal.

To help fund his trip, Baroody sold T- shirts promoting his Super Stadium Tour. He also arranged to have an official sponsor service his Ford Expedition, which often doubled as a hotel room. When possible, Baroody visited family and friends, including other JMU alumni. He may have set out with the goal to visit every stadium, but he also had another goal in mind. In his online journal he wrote, "I am going to create and rediscover relationships. That also happens to be my life dream, a dream even larger than, yes, the Super Stadium Tour."

While living out his two dreams, Baroody was greeted with a variety of fans in each city. By the third week into his trip, he had met countless enthusiastic football fans. His time spent in Tampa, however, proved to be his most memorable out of all 33 games, he says. "Great seats, great fans, great neighbors, great (the best) cheerleaders and a free hat."

But not all football fans come from Tampa. "The fans in Philly are by far the most harsh," says the Redskins fan, who is married to Jocelyn Potts ('98).

"My life was actually threatened by some idiot." Trailing closely behind Philadelphia is Detroit. "I was heckled by some fans, and some guy actually said to get a job," Baroody says. "That wasn't the bad part. I actually sort of enjoyed that. It was the game that provided no entertainment."

Baroody saw many Monday night games that turned out to be duds and says he had the best time in Nashville. "Titans fans are the best," he says. "The best stadium though, is Reliant Field in Houston, and the best tailgating is, of course, Green Bay."

Despite some lackluster games, Baroody is still a die-hard football fan and has been since he was a child. "My first words were mommy, daddy and hike; no joke." Baroody claims football is part of his identity and can remember playing football and looking up statistics since early childhood.

A season and a half after the Super Stadium Tour, Baroody is beginning to feel like one world record just isn't enough. He is considering visiting every sports venue in one year for four major sports -- baseball, basketball, football and hockey. "It would take me about eight months, but I think I can do it," he says.

- Lisa Freedman ('05)
www.superstadiumtour.com