Chasing The Dream

Ben Chase

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Well, this is it.

When you’re reading this, the journey is over.

77 football games in a single season — breaking the previous record of 57 by 20 games.

If you followed any part of this crazy journey, you probably know that this wasn’t easy.

It came with a ton of obstacles but I leave with memories for a lifetime and beyond. 

And that’s what it was really all about.

When I set out on this wildly spontaneous adventure, I wasn’t chasing records.

I was chasing a dream.

And I wanted to show everyone, including myself, that if you care about your dream enough and put in the time and energy, it can become a reality.

So, allow me to rewind and share the story.

How it started, how it went, and, more importantly, why I did it.

Cross country commitment

Let’s go back to the beginning because it’s an important part of the journey.

You may have all seen the video on Twitter where I announced my commitment to this crazy adventure.

But, that’s not how it started.

In fact, this all started back in May of 2021 when I quit my job as an attorney.

I made great money, but truthfully, I hated it.

It gave me no fulfillment in life, and I needed to find something that gave me a spark I was so desperately missing in my life.

So, I did what every other adult would do. I asked my friend Scott to help me take my passenger seat out of my car, replaced it with a bed, and drove from Orlando all the way out west, promising myself that I would not come back to Florida until I found something that I loved to do.

Well, maybe that’s not what every other adult would do, but I did it.

I didn’t have a job until roughly six months later when I started working for an NIL company.

But after nine months between San Diego and Tucson, I parted ways with the NIL company, starting from scratch, again.

At that point, there were two weeks until the college football season.

And every year, my friends would send me this Reddit map of the ‘ultimate college football road trip.’

But this time, I really had no excuse not to do it.

I’ve taken on long road trips to college football games before, so why not turn it into something more?!

So, I made another promise to myself.

If I didn’t find a job within the next two weeks, I was going to set out to do the unimaginable and attend at least 60 college football games in one season.

After two weeks passed, and no fitting job offer was on the table, my decision was made. 

Instead of waiting for happiness and fulfillment to find me, I was going to drive to college football stadiums all over the country to fill that void in my life.

And all of it with my loyal friend, Betty White — my 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan, which served as transportation and hotel.

No flights.

Staying at each game until the end of it.

No asking for money.

No GoFundMes.

If I was going to do this, I was going to do it the right way.

An early setback

And so, I began the chase of attending at least 60 games.

I attended my first game during week 0 of the college football season.

No problem. Off to a good start.

But game #2 of this wild journey already threw a massive wrench into my plans.

I was on my way from Tucson to Pittsburgh.

For those that have never been to Pittsburgh, it’s extremely hilly, and when I hit the brakes as I was coming up to a stop sign, I knew immediately something was wrong with Betty.

My heart sank instantly, not going to lie.

Here I was, making this massive commitment, and before it ever really started, I was already hitting a roadblock.

Was this how it was going to be for the next four months?

If I continue to have car issues, how can I make it to all these games in time? More importantly, how could I afford to have these car issues fixed if they keep happening?

At the time, I was sitting in a Walmart parking lot – eating a McFlurry to help me feel better – and I just broke down.

I lost it.

When the next morning arrived, though, I was undeterred. I went to the closest repair shop I could find and told them I don’t care how much it costs, just please fix Betty.

It ended up costing around $1,200 to fix, which wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start this already-expensive venture, but I was back in business.

And at that moment, that was all that mattered to me.

It’s bigger than me

As you can imagine, this whole journey created memories for a lifetime.

Unforgettable moments with fans, players, coaches, road trips, and everything in between.

If you want to hear all the stories, well, I guess you have to read the book I hope to write someday.

But, allow me to at least share my favorite moment from the trip because it’s one that so perfectly aligns with my ‘why.’

I was on track to attend at least 70 games at this point, and I was on my way to a USF game next.

I did an interview with a national news company just days before that game, and against my better judgment, I looked at the comments when they posted the video of the interview.

The very first comment I saw said something to the effect of, “Wow, imagine only being known as the guy who attends college football games and doesn’t have anything better to do with his life.”

It shouldn’t have bothered me, especially coming from a random internet troll, but it did.

Like I said before, this was my dream.

But it was always so much bigger than me.

So, to see this all belittled like that didn’t sit well with me at all.

Not long after I read that disparaging comment, I tweeted that I wanted to get 70 kids to attend the USF game.

As fate would have it, about two hours later, the athletic director for USF replied to my tweet and agreed to make it happen.

And USF went above and beyond, giving me 200 tickets instead of the 70 tickets I hoped for.

We also had shirts that were donated from South Florida Strong, food from Guthrie’s, and with the help of the Big-3 Rollup, we were even able to take the kids onto the field after the game to meet and hear from USF Hall of Famer, BJ Daniels. 

The most incredible part of this event was how the community came together — in just about 48 hours — to make the event special.

Take away every other game this fall, this one day alone, without a doubt, was one of the most gratifying and fulfilling of my life.

It confirmed what I believed from the beginning; that nothing can bring a community together more than college athletics, and specifically college football.

Paying my dues

As I reflect on these past four months, I think it’s important to note that chasing a dream isn’t always glamorous.

It’s often hard work, takes a lot of sacrifice, and isn’t always pretty.

I, for example, slept in my car — as well as my rental Barry White, a Nissan Versa —for about 100 nights throughout this trip.

I’ve slept in uncomfortably hot weather earlier in the season, and I’ve slept in temperatures as frigid as eight degrees during the winter.

I paid over $8,000 in car repairs and oil changes, just to get from A to B.

I sometimes slept as little as an hour or two, just to make it to the next game.

I never wanted this to be easy.

In fact, during the trip, I would purposely add new challenges for myself.

But that is what makes it all so worth it.

There were moments, though, when I did get to live a bit more lavishly.

One of those was when I stayed the night Coach McElwain’s house, the head coach of Central Michigan, who used to be the head coach for my alma mater, the Florida Gators.

And I think that’s a story worth sharing, too, as it perfectly portrays the generosity I encountered from a lot of people during this trip.

Like family

As I was on my way to Central Michigan for game #45, I received a DM on Twitter from the offensive coordinator’s wife at App State. She heard about my travel plans, and since her husband used to coach there, she wondered if I was interested in any connections.

Crazy already, right?

Anyways, I graciously said yes, and before I knew it, I was in a group text with two numbers I didn’t recognize. One of those numbers happened to be Karen McElwain, the wife of Coach McElwain.

She heard about my story and was such a big fan of what I was doing that she offered to be my host for the game. She left a bunch of Central Michigan gear in the barn at their house for me to pick up and bring to the game.

Once I got there, Karen took care of me the entire time. I tailgated with her and the wives of the coaches. I was on the field with her before the game.

And I watched the game with her in a box suite.

Just an incredible experience.

Somehow, it got even crazier when Central Michigan came back from a 24-7 deficit at halftime to beat Buffalo 31-27.

The gentleman next to me informed me that every time Central Michigan wins, Coach McElwain invites the families of his coaching staff and supporters over to his barn for drinks.

And sure enough, Karen sent me a text that the barn was open and to come on over.

I had a blast celebrating the big victory and rubbing elbows with all these incredible coaches, their families, and Central Michigan supporters.

As if Karen hadn’t been generous enough, she insisted on me staying the night before I traveled to Memphis the next morning.

For a weekend, I was treated like a member of the McElwain family and Central Michigan, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that experience of a lifetime.

Nothing connects people more than sports.

And I felt that very vividly in that moment.

Bigger than football

To say these past four months have been surreal is a massive understatement.

Despite never asking for money or tickets, for example, people kept showing up to support me and my journey.

In fact, out of the 77 games, I only had to buy tickets 14 times.

I think it just goes to show that people genuinely want to see you go after your dream. And maybe it even inspires them to do the same, you know?

During the journey I received all kinds of messages or heard stories from new friends I made on the road.

One that sticks with me is a message I got from someone who followed me online.

The young man told me that my journey brought him and his mother-in-law closer together, so much so that although she was not on Twitter, she’d ask about how this crazy guy from the internet’s college football road-rip was doing, even when she was sick.

Seriously, this is what it’s all about.

Yes, I did this for me, but the reason I shared all the ups and downs for the world to see is to spread a bigger message — to, once again, hopefully inspire others to chase their dreams, regardless of how crazy or impossible they seem.

Looking ahead

Now, everything is coming full-circle.

This journey really started in May of 2021.

15 months later, in August of 2022, I was unemployed, unfulfilled, and at a really difficult spot in my life.

And then, just a bit over four months later, I got to live my dream, inspire people, and I even landed my dream job as the new Director of NIL Strategy for my alma mater, the Florida Gators, here at the end of January.

Bet on yourself, and then double down. Go all-in, because then at the end, regardless of the outcome, you won’t look back with a single regret.

That’s the message I want to pass on.

To realize your dreams in life, sometimes you have to sleep in your car.

Or travel cross country.

Or have your car break down as you sit in a Walmart parking lot, eating ice cream.

Whatever it takes.

Because when it comes down to it, there’s nothing more important than your own happiness and living a life with no regrets.

That’s what leads to a fulfilling life that you can be proud of.

Although it might not seem like it at times, trust me, the journey is more important than the destination.

Betty, Barry, and I’ve over 60,000 miles to prove it.