When we travel to church Wednesday evenings, my husband Jeff always tunes the radio into Sportsline with Tony Caridi. Sometimes I listen a little, but I’m often on my phone or interrupting the show by talking. But last Wednesday evening, the guest caught my attention and I found myself following along. Ben Chase of Orlando is on the Ultimate College Football Road Trip - a mission to break the Guinness World Record for attending the most college football games. I thought that was cool and his stories were fun. Then, he shared an incidence that took place at the WVU vs. Virginia Tech game - when he made eye contact with a gal who was “rocking a Davy Crocket” hat - and he believes there were sparks. Aha; a romantic angle to a sports talk show. Now, I was a fan.

 

I followed Ben on Instagram and reached out to him that I was interested in writing about him. We talked by phone the next day. He said he is living his dream and in the process, is seeing an outpouring of support from the country. And who knows, he might even end up with a girlfriend. I know. It’s a longshot, but being a hopeless romantic, I’m rooting for him.

 

In was in August when 33-year-old Ben - with credit card in hand and stars in his eyes – set out to break the record, currently held by brothers Jameson and Mitchell Ritter, who drove 25,000 miles in 2016, attending 50 games across the U.S. 

 

“I pulled up an outline of the season which included D1, D2, Ivy League schools, etc. and decided I could do at least 62 games,” Chase said.

 

Based in Tucson at the time and working remotely in NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), he quit his job and three weeks later decided to hit the road.

 

It wasn’t an entirely impulsive decision. A graduate of the University of Florida who “bleeds orange and blue,” Ben was already a college football junkie and had “micro-dosed” in the past, attending back-to-back games with little sleep in between.

 

In 2020 he traveled to College Station, Texas behind a hurricane.

 

“When the sun came up in western Louisiana and eastern Texas, there were tipped-over semis all over the road,” he said.

 

He Tweeted the surreal sight and something crazy happened. He began receiving money for his trip. That was an aha moment for sure.

 

“People care about people going to games,” he said.

 

Ben has traveled more than 18,000 miles in his 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan named “Betty White.” He was traveling on his fifth oil change when I caught up with him the other day, driving to New Jersey for the Princeton vs. Brown contest. He was then proceeding on to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the noon game the following day, then to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana That is three games in 29 hours. As if that wasn't challenging enough, he planned to then  drive to St. Louis, Missouri, but that Washington University game was moved to Arkansas – more than double the driving distance.

 

“But I’m never going to complain. I’m living my dream and having the greatest time. I’ll do whatever it takes,” Ben said.

 

He always dresses in home team gear and has been known to visit the Goodwill stores in various cities to pick up his ensemble. Along his journey, he has encountered great hospitality: Free food, free lodging, free tickets and even apparel.

 

“I’ve had seven beds donated, six couches and two people got me hotel rooms,” he said. “Out of 26 games, I had to buy only five tickets.”

 

As word spreads, schools have reached out to him - sometimes the coach or athletic director themselves. The latter was the case when he visited Marshall University.

 

“They kind of say just get here and we’ll take care of you,” Ben said.

 

He admits he didn’t know what he was getting into when he started the journey and that every game brings a story.

 

“This trip is not about me. It’s about communities of people who love their schools and want to share that,” he said.

“College football, more than anything in our country, seems to bring everyone together.”

 

Ben plans to stay at it until the national championship on Jan. 9.

 

He has attended more WVU games than any other school so far and, yes, he was met with open arms.

 

“The Mountaineers are two and one with me in attendance,” he said.

 

That most recent win was last week’s 43-40 victory over Baylor at Mountaineer Stadium.

 

“That game was crazy, right? I was there for two seconds and handed a bottle of moonshine,” he said.

 

He sat in a season ticket holder’s 50-yard-line seat which came with concierge service.  

 

It was at the Sept. 22 WVU vs. Virginia Tech game – held on the Hokies’ home turf – where he encountered the Davy Crockett girl. At halftime, when the score was 13-7 in favor of the Mountaineers, Ben took a lap around the stadium to “soak up the atmosphere and make mental notes.”

 

“Walking back to my seat, I saw her. I think she was coming out of the restroom. We looked at each other two or three seconds – long enough to smile at each other – then we both walked away,” he said. “We were probably like 30 feet away – it was like eyes across the room – but you know when it’s one of those moments.”

 

As WVU continued to improve the score on their favor, Ben became a little refocused on the Davy Crockett girl, Tweeting his experience.

As he said, it could have been one of any 10,000 Mountaineer girls, but he’d sure like to find out if there’s anything to his encounter. He’s easy to find. He’s on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

 

In the meantime, he continues on his roadtrip mission; loving every minute of the journey.

 

“Do what you love, and you’ll never have to work a day. That’s what everyone says. And maybe it turns into something. I’m just leaning into it,” he said. "My dream is to turn this into something fulltime and maybe live in San Diego in the offseason or something."

 

Ben is making videos at each game stop and plans to edit and share them after his road trip. By the way, he’s now setting his sights on attending 68-70 games.

 

He stays for the entire game – and every single one ends on a special note.

 

“Win or lose, I’m in home gear, singing the alma mater with the fans,” he said.