How far would you go to watch USF football?

[bullsbucsfan426]

In recent years, one of the prime things we've seen are kickoff classic games in other countries. You've seen teams go abroad, mainly to Europe, but on occasion to other countries.

So this is the question, and I'll poll it out by city to get a relative approximation of distance. Just select the furthest you'd be willing to go in early September.

A basic breakdown of the cities

London: 

Pros: Direct flights from most of the US East Coast and midwest. Relatively low cost of flights given the circumstances. English is main language. 

Cons: London is expensive. 

Lowest flight cost, assuming we were playing there this year on opening weekend and you're just staying there for the night of the game and maybe a day afterwards and flying from Tampa: $1349

Hotel Cost for 3 days: $165

Food cost: up to you

Jerusalem: 

Pros: Historic city with a lot of things to do. Excellent opportunities for religious tourism. Strong English-speaking community. Israelis are generally friendly to American visitors.

Cons: Potential political instability due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Certain parts of town you should avoid. Restrictive security entering and exiting Israel. no direct flights

Lowest flight cost: $910

Hotel cost for 3 days: 327

Dubai: 

Pros: American-friendly. Significant English speaking population. Emirates offers direct flights from Orlando, NYC, Washington DC, and other cities, and other carriers may offer reasonably priced flights given the distance. Lots of things to do, including indoor skiing and dining underwater

Cons: High cost of shopping and food. UAE government is overly legalistic. Extremely long flights. Dubai is 7-8 hours ahead of the US East coast.

Lowest flight cost (orlando): $1000

Hotel cost for three days: $294

Mumbai, India

Pros: India is generally receptive to foreigners. Extremely favorable exchange rate. most flights involve a layover in Dubai, Doha, or a European airport. Lots of things to do if you know where to go.

Cons: Limited English speaking population. Extreme poverty right alongside wealth. Crime rate. women at risk because Indians have a **** problem. You could be scammed easily.Mumbai is 10-11 hours ahead of the US East coast. 

Lowest flight cost: $1226

Lowest hotel cost for 3 days: $420: note: I selected a Hyatt Regency. It's not necessarily advisable to select lower grade hotels in Mumbai or other 3rd world countries. 

Tokyo, Japan

Pros: Receptive to foreigners, especially Americans. Extremely safe. Strong public transit, and a variety of tourism opportunities, from history to culture to shopping. Japan actually has some history with American football, and 40k show up annually for their national championship, the Rice Bowl. The NFL has held games in Tokyo in the past. 

Cons: Flights are very expensive and extremely long. Tokyo itself is expensive, and Tokyo Narita is far outside the city. Tokyo is also 13-14 hours ahead of the US East coast.

Lowest flight cost: $1,509

Hotel cost for 3 days: $390

 

Edited March 17, 2016 by bullsbucsfan426

[Sellular1]

you spent way too much time on this...

[Mike Stuben]

I was in Dubai last year and found the food to be extremely affordable. Yes, I realize there are high end restaurants that can cost a lot, but simple places the average person would eat were far cheaper than Tampa. I've been to all the listed cities except Mumbai. Your airfare to London seems high. 

 

Now, here is my story on how far I would go to see my Bulls. 2002, USF had a conditional bid to the Hawaii bowl depending on the outcome of an ECU vs. Cincinnati game that ended up going the wrong way. I had a travel on hold that went something like this:

(I think the game was on Christmas day back then, or maybe the 24 or 26, anyway you looked at it, this trip was over Christmas)

Dec 24. Drive to Atlanta, Fly ATL-LAX-HNL

Spend about 30 hours on the ground in Hawaii while seeing the game, 

Dec 26. Then fly back: HNL-SFO-JFK-BHM 

Then figure out how to get from Birmingham to Atlanta to pick up my car and drive home. All this compressed into about 3 days. 

[bullsbucsfan426]

4 minutes ago, Mike Stuben said:

I was in Dubai last year and found the food to be extremely affordable. Yes, I realize there are high end restaurants that can cost a lot, but simple places the average person would eat were far cheaper than Tampa. I've been to all the listed cities except Mumbai. Your airfare to London seems high. 

 

Now, here is my story on how far I would go to see my Bulls. 2002, USF had a conditional bid to the Hawaii bowl depending on the outcome of an ECU vs. Cincinnati game that ended up going the wrong way. I had a travel on hold that went something like this:

(I think the game was on Christmas day back then, or maybe the 24 or 26, anyway you looked at it, this trip was over Christmas)

Dec 24. Drive to Atlanta, Fly ATL-LAX-HNL

Spend about 30 hours on the ground in Hawaii while seeing the game, 

Dec 26. Then fly back: HNL-SFO-JFK-BHM 

Then figure out how to get from Birmingham to Atlanta to pick up my car and drive home. All this compressed into about 3 days. 

I was running it through on Hopper. Prices can change, and I'm sure flights to London will be cheaper at certain times. 

I haven't been to Mumbai either, but I needed a good city in South Asia and unfortunately, Karachi, Pakistan does not fit the bill of a tourism destination for anyone who isn't Muslim. 

The furthest I've been to watch USF thus far has been at Maryland. I hope I get an opportunity in the near future to expand how far I go.

Thanks for calling me on Dubai, my parents have been there a number of times for extended stays, and they cited the food prices as being high. But then, they tend to eat expensive anyway (MDs can get away with that). 

That hawaii trip would be easier now. You only need one stop in the continental USA on the west coast, and you could drive out to Orlando for that. 

[JTrue]

Where the hell are you staying in London for $165 for three days? An Underground station? I was there this summer and stayed in a Holiday Inn Express that cost that much a night.

[Sellular1]

I've already seen our football team play in a foreign country...

[Mike Stuben]

My crazy Hawaii routing was based on available frequent flyer miles seats being available. I couldn't afford a last moment ticket to Hawaii. 

Sellular, I assume you are talking about the International Bowl, I remember how cold the walk to the stadium was. 

Side note on Dubai, my plane ticket, JFK to Abu Dhabi with a free bus to Dubai only cost $197 round trip, but that was based on a mistake fare the airline accidentally published. 

[Brad]

52 minutes ago, Mike Stuben said:

Now, here is my story on how far I would go to see my Bulls. 2002, USF had a conditional bid to the Hawaii bowl depending on the outcome of an ECU vs. Cincinnati game that ended up going the wrong way.

That was a great time, hoping to get to go to Hawaii to watch one of the most exciting teams in college football....

 

[Mike Stuben]

45 minutes ago, Brad said:

That was a great time, hoping to get to go to Hawaii to watch one of the most exciting teams in college football....

 

Every time a mediocre team makes a bowl game I think about our 2002 team that was robbed of that experience. 9-2, win over a top 25 team, only losses were at Oklahoma and at Arkansas. 

[88Alum]

How about somewhere a little closer like Canada or the Bahamas?