How Do NFL Teams Travel?
How do NFL teams travel? Do they fly? Take buses? What kind of vehicles do they use? Get the answers to these questions and more in this informative blog post!
By Plane
Most NFL teams travel by plane for away games. They usually fly on Fridays and land in the city they are playing in early Saturday morning. The team will then have a walk-through practice at the stadium where the game will be played.
The night before the game, the team will stay in a hotel near the stadium. Players will often go out to eat with their teammates or relax in their hotel room to get ready for the game.
On game day, players will wake up early and have a big breakfast. They’ll then head to the stadium to warm up and get ready for kick-off.
By Train
Trains were once a popular form of travel for NFL teams. In the early days of the league, several teams would travel by train to away games. The New York Giants rode the rails to seven road games in 1934. The Chicago Bears took the train to 12 road games in 1941. Even as recently as 1971, the Miami Dolphins took a train to an away game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
These days, NFL teams almost always travel by plane to away games. There are several reasons for this change. First, trains are much slower than planes. It can take a train several hours to travel from one city to another, whereas it only takes a plane a few hours to make the same trip. Second, trains are not as comfortable as planes. Planes have seats that are larger and more spacious than train seats, and they also have more legroom. Third, planes can fly directly from one city to another, whereas trains often have to make stops along the way. This makes plane travel much more convenient for NFL teams.
By Bus
Many NFL teams travel by bus, especially for training camp and short road trips. The Green Bay Packers, for example, have used buses exclusively for training camp travel since 1947. Buses are also commonly used for road trips that are within a few hours of the team’s home stadium. For longer road trips, teams will usually fly.