Extratime

ExtraTime Radio: Ultimate soccer road trip! 8 months, 35 games, 20k miles

ExtraTime Radio - The Soccer Tour

ExtraTime Radio Podcast

ExtraTime Radio: Ultimate soccer road trip! 8 months, 35 games, 20k miles -


LISTEN: Eight months, 35 games, 20,000 miles. It’s the ultimate soccer road trip, and Steve Bernasconi is just crazy enough to take it on. The 25-year-old will start Feb. 25 in Tampa, Fla., and end Oct. 15 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. But how is he pulling this off? Why is he doing it in the first place? ExtraTime Radio got the intrepid soccer fan on the phone to find out what The Soccer Tour is all about and how you can be a part of it when Bernasconi comes through your city! You won't want to miss any shows leading up to opening day, so be sure to subscribe on iTunes!


Is Steve Bernasconi crazy? Maybe. The 25-year-old self-described soccer nut understands why you might think that.


Later this month, Bernasconi will hit the road for eight months to take in 35 soccer games in the United States in Canada, including games in all 22 MLS stadiums, in the process traveling more than 20,000 miles to experience the game he loves in the flesh. He’s calling it The Soccer Tour, and it very well could be the first-ever trip of its kind.


“That’s part of the motivation behind doing it,” Bernasconi told ETR. “… Something this long, that traverses the entire continent and stops in every MLS stadium, I don’t think anything like that has ever been done.”


Of course, there’s a reason nobody else has attempted this sort of prolonged North American soccer vagabond existence before. It’s a serious commitment, and it promises to hit a few bumps along the way.


Ahead of the first stop in Tampa for a preseason match between the Rowdies and Montreal Impact, Bernasconi is busy packing his parent’s minivan with clothes, supplies, a cooler and a cot (just in case). His plans call for help from fellow soccer fans along the way. It’s all about community, but we know what you’re thinking. And so does Steve.


“I think they all think I’m crazy,” he said. “I think they’d be crazy not to think that.”


Listen to the full interview above and subscribe to ExtraTime Radio on iTunes for more awesome soccer talk!


Want to follow The Soccer Tour’s journey across the US and Canada? Follow on Twitter and Instagram. Want to help Steve out during his trip? You can lend a hand here.


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The views expressed by the hosts and guests are theirs and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Major League Soccer / Soccer United Marketing.