‘Bigger than just the record’: Football fan eyes world record for quickest visit to all CFL stadiums

A CFL super fan is two-thirds of the way into his record-breaking attempt to visit all nine stadiums in the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 15 days.

The criss-crossing journey began as a fun way to get Chris Tymofichuk’s name in the Guinness World Records book.

Tymofichuk, a fan of the game since he attended the 1991 Grey Cup, started the world-record attempt July 12 in Winnipeg where he watched the Blue Bombers beat the Stampeders 41-37. That same weekend he flew to Vancouver and Edmonton.

He has since travelled to Regina, Hamilton and Calgary, crossing off six out of the nine stadiums on his list. If all goes to plan, he will beat the current record by 90 minutes.

“I wanted to add a charity element to this and it’s morphed into something so much bigger than just the record,” Tymofichuk told CTV News ahead of his stop in Regina over the weekend.

Along the way, he is collecting donations for childhood cancer research for the Michael Cuccione Foundation in Vancouver. The group CFL Fans Fight Cancer selected the foundation as this year’s Grey Cup charity.

“I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t have a connection to cancer in some form. It’s within my own family. There are some battles being fought right now,” Tymofichuk said.

Besides eyeing his custom grey and pink “fight cancer” jersey in the crowd, fans recognize Tymofichuk as “the guy with the bucket” at every game.

“As word gets out, more and more people are starting to follow and come find me at the different stadiums. It’s incredible,” he said.

“One lady in B.C. said, ‘I’m getting surgery this Friday. Here’s my donation. Thank you for what you’re trying to do.'”

CFL Fans Fight Cancer has a fundraising goal of $40,000. After stops in six cities, Tymofichuk’s efforts have helped the group raise nearly $15,000.

“If it happens, it happens,” Tymofichuk said. “If it doesn’t, we’re still going to have fun. We’re still going to fundraise.”

Delta, B.C.’s Bobby Dubeau set the record last CFL season after watching games at all nine stadiums in 15 days.

“It didn’t exist in the (Guinness World Records) book,” Dubeau said. “I had to kind of pitch why it is a significant record.”

Dubeau did the trek for the experience, while the fan reaction and hospitality from the teams were definite highlights, he said.

“Chris is doing it for a lot better reasons than I (did),” Dubeau said.

But whatever the reasons, Dubeau believes it is a cross-country journey that all CFL fans should make.

“I think everybody should do this, whether it’s in 15 days, 14 days, or just over one season. I think it’s a great thing that people should do and get a true experience of Canadiana.”

Tymofichuk has three games left in his attempt: Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

He hopes to seal the deal on Saturday, July 27, when Winnipeg takes on Toronto at BMO Field.