CFL fan’s Guinness record attempt all for good cause

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It started as a trip for fun. Then it morphed into a Guinness World Record. Now, a year later, it’s a charitable money-raising vehicle.

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And maybe, it will become an annual tradition.

Surrey, B.C.’s Bobby Dubeau became the first, and fastest, person in the world to see games played at all nine CFL stadiums last year, earning his spot in the Guinness annals during his criss-crossing of the country.

Now it’s Chris Tymofichuk’s turn. Inspired by Dubeau’s feat, he is trying to beat the 2023 record of 15 days — and all things going well, he will beat it by 1.5 hours — and using it to raise money for cancer research.

“I hope next year and in future years, that there’s always an opportunity for somebody to try and beat whatever record there is,” said Tymofichuk, a Winnipeg native who now lives in Ottawa.

“I think it would be a fun CFL tradition.”

Tymofichuk’s attempt started Friday in his hometown, when the Calgary Stampeders took on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Princess Auto Stadium. He was in Vancouver the next day to take in the Saskatchewan Roughriders at B.C. Place. And when he knocks the dust off his boots on July 27 in Toronto, he could be the new record holder.

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But that’s not the point of it all. Tymofichuk is raising money for CFL Fans Fight Cancer, a grassroots campaign started in 2005 after Hamilton Tiger-Cats coach Ron Lancaster was diagnosed with cancer. Every year, the CFLFFC raises money for a cancer charity in the Grey Cup host city, with more than $100,000 raised since.

“I was just an idiot doing it for something to do — at least he’s doing using the powers for good,” said the 38-year-old Dubeau.

The charity beneficiary this year is the Michael Cuccione Foundation, which is focused on bettering childhood cancer treatments.

“I don’t think there’s anybody out there that doesn’t have a connection in some way,” said Tymofichuk, 51. “I think everybody has that story. We’re not looking to raise millions of dollars — this was a grassroots effort by fans, without corporate backing. If we can raise a few dollars to throw toward something good, to make things better for the kids, then that’s all we want to do.”

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Dubeau, a lifelong CFL fan, had planned to go to a stadium in every season just for the experience.

“The record (idea) was kind of just something I thought, ‘Hey, there’s enough stupid things in this book, so maybe they’d authorize something like this,” he said Thursday in Surrey, while watching the B.C. Lions practice for Saturday’s game against the Riders.

“I don’t think I found out it was approved until maybe a week before, but I was going regardless. I’m happy for anybody to do it. I think everybody should do it. Whether it’s my record or not, it was a great experience. It was fun being like a D-level celebrity for a week and a half.

“I think the biggest thing was just the reaction to it. … All of a sudden I was like this cult hero. I thought there was plenty of material to roast me, but it was all like 100 per cent positive.

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“I was basically just surprised how positive everybody was in the CFL community.

The teams were great. The fans were great. I think it’s different kind of people and follow the CFL especially when you see Oilers-Canucks fans online this year. There’s not really any toxicity in the CFL fan community. It’s more friendly. There’s an understanding that it’s our own kind of league here you kind of appreciate everybody, everybody in it. It’s not really a TV revenue league, right? It’s the fans that drive these teams forward.”

Dubeau was one of the early calls Tymofichuk made, and the two have been in regular contact. There was no jealousy or possessiveness, said Tymofichuk, just earnest support.

The two planned to link up at B.C. Place on Saturday, where Dubeau will be a witness for Tymofichuk’s visit. The Guinness attempt requires strict verification protocols — several witness signatures, video footage from the game’s start, finish and a few minutes every hour in-between, and new for this year, a GPS tracker.

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Tymofichuk is lucky that he won’t have the restrictions a similar attempt at the World Cup was met with last year, when the fans weren’t allowed to leave their seats, not even for the bathroom.

A thunderstorm in Montreal last year nearly scuttled Dubeau’s endeavour, but Tymofichuk is more concerned with airline employee strikes and forest fires affecting his flight statuses. Getting enough sleep will be his enemy early on, with plenty of 4:30 a.m. wakes after late games, but Dubeau chimed not to sleep on the challenge of getting witnesses to stick around during blowouts or boring games.

Dubeau wore his B.C. Lions Hawaiian shirt and a Ticats hat during his tour. Tymofichuk has a custom-made grey jersey with pink lettering that he hopes will set him apart in the crowd.

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“I hope people just have fun following along,” he said. “I’m encouraging people to come find me. I’m going to have a donation bucket for pennies, quarters, loonies, whatever, and all of that goes to the foundation. But it’s really trying to get as many people feel they can be a part of this attempt as well. It’s not just one person. This is a CFL family, the CFL fan base that makes it possible.”

TYMOFICHUK’S SCHEDULE

Friday, July 12 — Calgary at Winnipeg (Princess Auto Stadium)

Saturday, July 13 — Saskatchewan at B.C. (B.C. Place)

Sunday, July 14 — Ottawa at Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium)

Friday, July 19 — Winnipeg at Saskatchewan (Mosaic Stadium)

Saturday, July 20 — Toronto at Hamilton (Tim Hortons Field)

Sunday, July 21 — B.C. at Calgary (McMahon Stadium)

Thursday, July 25 — Saskatchewan at Montreal (Molson Percival Stadium)

Friday, July 26 — Calgary at Ottawa (TD Place)

Saturday, July 27 — Winnipeg at Toronto (BMO Field)

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