ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP: Winnipeg pair out to set Guinness record with nine CFL games in two weeks

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For Neil Reavely, the release of the CFL schedule back in December was a lot like the anticipation of a Christmas morning.

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What he saw when he looked at the schedule was a chance to set a Guinness World Record. Starting Sunday in Edmonton, Reavely and Tavona Molinski will attempt to become the fastest to attend nine CFL games in nine different cities in two weeks.

“I said I always wanted to do it but the schedule never works out,” said Reavely. “Generally the schedule is where there’s a doubleheader or the teams don’t necessarily play nine in a row or where they don’t all play.”

This year’s CFL schedule actually had three opportunities to match or break the previous record of just over 15 days, set last year by B.C.’s Bobby Dubeau and eclipsed earlier this summer by Chris Tymofichuk, a Winnipeg native who now lives in Ottawa.

The first set of dates were July 12-27 (which Tymofichuk completed earlier this summer), followed by Aug. 8-23 and Aug. 11-25. By doing the last set of dates, it allows Reavely and Molinski to complete the task in only 14 days or 339 hours which will eclipse all other possibilities by an entire day.

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“After seeing Bobby do it last year in 15 days, I’m like ‘I want to do it,’ ” said Reavely, a 53-year-old Educational Assistant at Dakota Collegiate and former football and volleyball coach. “I told the kids that I work with that when you put your mind to it you can do anything. Don’t give up on your hopes and dreams.”

First up for the pair is Sunday’s game between the B.C. Lions and Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium, followed by Ottawa Redblacks at Calgary Stampeders (Aug.15), Montreal Alouettes at Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina (Aug. 16). Edmonton at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Aug. 17), Winnipeg Blue Bombers at B.C. in Vancouver (Aug. 18), Saskatchewan at Toronto Argos (Aug. 22), Hamilton at Winnipeg (Aug. 23), B.C. at Ottawa (Aug. 24), and Edmonton at Montreal (Aug. 25).

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And just to make things even more interesting, the pair are revisiting the John Candy/Steve Martin classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles through their various modes of transport.

A school bus driver in Oakbank, Molinski is driving to Edmonton where she will pick up Reavely at the airport before they go to the Elks game. Afterwards, the pair will drive to Calgary for the Stamps game before continuing onto Regina for the Riders game. After a return drive to Winnipeg, they will fly to Toronto and then bus to Hamilton for the Ticats game before flying out of Toronto to Vancouver and taking a water taxi to the Lions-Bombers game.

After flying home for a couple of days, the pair will fly to Toronto for the Argos game before returning home for the Bomber game where – weather permitting – they will walk to Princess Auto Stadium and then fly to Ottawa and take the train to Montreal.

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“We’ve got it all figured out,” said Reavely, who has special t-shirts printed up for each stop on their pigskin pilgrimage. “All the flights have already been booked, the train has been booked.”

While records are made to be broken, Reavely figures this one may be tough to beat although he doesn’t mind sharing the credit with Tymofichuk’s effort from earlier this summer.

“Hearing the way the players are complaining about the way the schedule is with short weeks coming off a Saturday or Sunday game and then coming back to play on a Thursday game, I don’t think we’ll ever see that in the league again where we will have a perfect schedule where you can go to nine different cities in a row with no team duplicating or back-to-back home games,” he said. “When we saw this, we were like we have to jump on this because if someone else is doing it from another province or somewhere else at the same time, I’ve got no problem sharing an asterix in a Guinness book with someone at all.”

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Providing they manage to set the record, Reavely is hoping that the pair along with Dubeau and Tymofichuk will get invited to this year’s Grey Cup in Vancouver.

Amazingly, they are not breaking the bank for this ultimate CFL road trip with Reavely figuring it will cost $3,000-4,000. “Thank goodness for Air Miles and some great flight deals that we got.”

Next on his bucket list? Reavely would also like to do all 32 NHL teams in 32 days.

“It’s a challenge but the thing I would say is if you’ve got a goal and your mind set to it, just go for it. Life’s too short not to take chances and enjoy life.”

glen.dawkins@kleinmedia.ca

X: @SunGlenDawkins

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