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If you thought Taylor Swift rushing from Tokyo to the Super Bowl was a ‘fascinating’ story, I’ve got one that will make that look like child’s play. On Saturday morning, one Tennessee fan completed a 28-hour journey from Taiwan, just to see his Vols play Alabama. 

Chad Chesney was not going to miss this opportunity, unless his travel plans got in the way. 

I’ve heard some incredible stories from fans about traveling to their favorite sporting events over the past 15 years, but one fan that now lives in Knoxville took the cake this past weekend, with a day that started in Taiwan, and ended with him smoking a cigar inside Neyland Stadium. 

There’s certainly a lot of passion around college athletics, sometimes a little extreme, especially with the amount of money that it costs to attend some of these games. We’ve all seen stories of people camping out for tickets, lining up days before they go on-sale, or folks traveling across the country to witness their favorite team take the field. 

But what about a trip over the Pacific Ocean, across the country, with multiple layovers, and if anything went wrong, you’d miss one of the craziest games we’ve seen this season in college football? Yep, that’s exactly what Chad Chesney pulled off this past Saturday, on a day that started that 7:30 a.m. local time in Taipei, Taiwan. 

Originally from the Knoxville area where his parents lived, Chad Chesney moved to Austin, Texas and lived there for 30 years, only recently moving back to East Tennessee this year, where he has a daughter who attends school. Born a Tennessee fan, it’s hard to get that out of your blood once you’ve been indoctrinated. 

So, there was no way he was going to miss this Alabama game, unless his flights were to cause some problems. Working for a company in Taiwan, Chad knew he was going to miss the Florida game because of obligations, but there was hope he could make it in time for this past weekend’s thriller. 

Even though he did not know that exact time of the game when he booked his airplane ticket in September, Chad at least knew it would probably be in the 3:30 or 7:30 time slot on ABC. So, he booked his ticket, hoping everything would work out. 

“Every chance I have to go to a game with them (parents), I try my hardest,” Chad said about attending Tennessee games. 

But here comes the crazy part. He had a dinner event in Taiwan on Friday evening, so he had to get a little creative with his booking. Chad had 30 hours to make it to Knoxville. 

“I had work commitments all week, and the last thing was a dinner on Friday night,” Chad mentioned. “So I was gonna miss the Florida game, but the opportunity to go to a home game with them (Parents) is kinda special. I looked at how I could not miss two games. I started looking at flights and I couldn’t find anything. So, I started looking at what if I leave after the dinner at 8:30 p.m.. Can I get a flight to the West Coast, on a red-eye at least, which I found. But, how could i get the rest of the way? 

“I left midnight, Taiwan time, Friday night. I left the dinner at 8:30 p.m. Friday night, which is 8:30 am Knoxville time Friday. Got to the airport, got on that flight, landed around 6:30 pm Friday night in California. Then got on a red-eye flight at 11:00 p.m. out of San Francisco to Chicago. Landed in Chicago around 5:30 am, then a little layover and fly to Knoxville, and land in Knoxville at 10:30 a.m. Then there’s, of course, flight delays. But there were a couple of delays, but I ended up making it.” 

Talk about commitment, Chad Chesney had 30 hours to get to Knoxville, and if there was even just one problem with one of his flights, he wouldn’t have been able to experience the game. Luckily for Chad, he had time to get home, take a shower, and enjoy the tailgate atmosphere with his family. 

The things you do for family, and Tennessee football. That’s one experience that Chad will never forget.