Great Atlantic Travel and Tour Company Blog

NFL regular season games are expensive enough, but Playoffs bring more demand which is followed by higher prices. One Wall Street investment banker didn't hold back this past week shelling out one hell of a football getaway for him and his buds.

Story by Rick Chandler via Off the Bench. Picture courtesy of New York Post/Chad Rachman
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. His name is Peter Serafin, 57, married, Manhattan-born, and a diehard Green Bay Packers fan. Since he's a Wall Street investment banker and apparently can afford it, he shelled out a total of $240,000 to take five friends (all Giants fans) on a road trip to see Sunday's NFC playoff game between Green Bay and New York art Lambeau Field.

How does one spend $240,000 at a football game, you ask? Easy. His trip included: Fully stocked luxury RV, Two waitresses, Driver, Executive chef of the Old Homestead Steakhouse, Three TVs, 26 bottles of champagne, 65 Kobe beef burgers, 100 gallons of beer, 150 pounds of prime beef, 10 live lobsters, Six tickets on the 50-yard line.

Oh, and he also missed his 28th wedding anniversary. "Fortunately, my wife understood this is a one-shot deal," he said

All the quotes we have from Serafin came before the game - no telling what he's feeling like now. Maybe he's living in a tent with the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Mr. Serafin as a diehard sports fan I salute you. If you are looking to shell out a few more sheckles consider the Super Bowl.

As the exciting 2011 NFL season wraps up gearheads are starting to get excited about upcoming 2012 NASCAR season. While most of America was watching the division round of the NFL playoffs, Nascar Sprint Cup teams were in Daytona testing their cars for the upcoming Speedweeks and Daytona 500 races. Easily one of the top ten sports experiences in the US is attending the Daytona 500. Beach, beer, bikinis, loud engines, partying, music, bumper to bumper action makes for a great time and awesome atmosphere. 1, 2, or 3 night packages as well as ticket only options are still available. Make sure to refer to this blog post and get free shipping.

Sports on the Tube
1 - NHL Dallas vs St. Louis (7PM NBCSN) - The Blues are on a roll after their head coaching change and face a challenge from the Stars.
2 - NBA LA Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks (TNT 10:30) - Kobe looking to get 40 or more for the 6^th straight time against the defending champs trying to find their way.
3 - replay of Sunday's Capitals vs Hurricanes game since I was too busy partaking in adult beverages and watching the Giants dismantle the Packers.

For the third consecutive year Argentine striker Lionel Messi has been awarded the prestigious FIFA Golden Ball Award for being the world's top soccer player. The 24 year old stud player for FC Barcelona beat out his teammate Xavi Hernandez as well as rival Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Although having a rather disappointing 2010 FIFA World Cup showing for his home land Argentina, Messi has been nothing but clutch in the Champions League as he has led Barca to three titles in six years, and are once again the team to beat. Messi becomes only the second player, after current UEFA president Michel Platini, to win the award for three consecutive years. The only other three time winners are world renowned greats Brazil's Ronaldo and France's Zidane (headbutter). Surely Lionel Messi will continue to leave one heck of a legacy.

Remember, Great Atlantic Travel is the preferred destination for any and all soccer/football packages worldwide, such as the 2012 Euro Cup, 2013 Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup, Football at Wembley, Champions League Final, and everything in between.

Sports On TV
1 - NHL Boston vs Montreal (NHL Network 7PM) - a rematch of a brutal 7 game playoff series last year where tempers flared rather often.
2 - NBA: Knicks vs Grizzlies (TNT 8PM) - they couldn't find a better game to put on nationally?
3 - NCAA: Gonzaga vs Saint Mary's (ESPN2 11PM) - Pretty good rivalry that's been even through the years and any game at "the Kennel" is worth watching.

Here we are at the start of January, with the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games just 200 days away. The beautiful city of London is getting ready to host two of the biggest sporting events on the planet, the Summer Games and Paralympics Games. 16 million spectators are expected to visit and watch 15,000 of the world's most competitive and impressive athletes compete for their respective nation's pride. Great Atlantic Travel is proud to offer Overnight packages along with hotel room only for those who already have their event tickets, or just want to enjoy the atmosphere!

Sports on the Tube
BCS National Championship Game LSU vs Alabama (8PM ABC) - The top two teams in college football play each other once again, only this time for the National Championship, or at least part of it. LSU defeated Bama earlier this year in Tuscaloosa 9-6 on their way to an undefeated season, but Nick Saban can be as dangerous as a game planner as any coach. All hell may break loose if Bama beats LSU in New Orleans leading to 3 teams claiming the championship. Prediction: LSU 27, Alabama 21
NHL Washington Capitals vs LA Kings (10:30 CSN) - The Caps look to get back to winning ways as they close out their quick 2 game west coast trip.
Nonstop Tebow coverage despite there being 7 other NFL teams alive

Finally the NFL playoffs are here and the Wild Card round gives us 4 pretty decent games to watch. Cincinnati at Houston and Detroit at New Orleans on Saturday while the Sunday games are the Falcons at Giants and Steelers at Broncos. The winners will go on the road next week to play the top 2 seeds that have a bye, so in the AFC the Patriots and Ravens with the NFC's Packers and 49ers will have a distinct advantage for the best NFL weekend of the year - the Divisional round. As always tickets and packages remain available for all of the playoffs and Super Bowl. Predictions - Bengals, Saints, Falcons, Steelers all win.

Top 5 Selling Events of the Week    
1 - Baltimore Ravens playoff tickets
2 - Masters
3 - London Summer Games
4 - Euro Cup
5 - Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Sports on the Tube this Weekend
NFL Playoffs (Sat & Sun NBC/Fox/Cbs)
Cotton Bowl Kansas St vs Arkansas (Friday 8PM Fox ) - This is a great matchup in the legendary bowl game that now takes place in Jerry World (New Cowboys Stadium). Should be a great game featuring two teams that were in the top 10 most of the year. Prediction: K St 27, Arkansas 31.
PGA Tournament of Champions (Golf Channel 5:30PM) - The first golf tournament of the season!! Despite not having Tiger or Lefty, plenty of good names will be competing for the first trophy of the year. Plus, you got to love sitting on the couch watching golf taking place in luscious Hawaii - spring is just 3 months away, but more importantly so is the Masters.
NHL Washington Capitals vs San José Sharks (Sat 10PM) - 4 wins in a row and after a lengthy 4 day break the red hot Caps visit the factory of sadness called San Jose HP Pavilion where they haven't won in forever. That ends on Saturday, Caps win 4-2.
NBA Lakers vs Clippers (Sat 1030PM NBA TV) - the battle of LA as Kobe and his Lakers try top put "the new hip kids" Clippers back in their place as the second best NBA team in the city.

Have a great weekend, unless you are a penguins fan

Lebron just can't learn to pump the brakes on his expectations for any team he is on. Today, when asked how this year's 2012 Dream Team can compare to the greatest of all time in 1992, Lebron had this nugget, "We can stack up with those guys. They set the standard for USA Basketball in '92 with all the great players they had. But we have some great ones, as well. We have some Hall of Famers, some champions. So it's going to be a great (team)." Clearly Lebron needs a history lesson on who he is comparing him and his buds to. Not to mention the 92 team has multiple rings unlike Lebron who still doesn't have 1 or 4, or 5, or 6. Last I checked this 2012 Olympic Dream team does not include Dwayne Wade and 4 clones of Kobe Bryant. Heres how they stack up:
1992: Jordan, Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Chirs Mullin, Christian Laettner.
2012 (projected): Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Brook Lopez.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Benedict Arnold and I will be rooting for this year's Dream Team in London at the Olympics. But to hear these talented players who are all younger than me compare themselves to legends, they clearly need to watch some tape on just how dominating 1992 was regardless of the talent level of their competition.

Sports on the Tube
Orange Bowl (8PM ESPN) - Even though this might be the least intriguing matchup of the BCS Bowls, it still should be fun to watch. Both teams have a fun offense and are finishing off decent seasons behind two popular coaches.

#9 Georgetown vs #20 Marquette - Two Big East Powerhouses go after each other in DC's Verizon Center. Georgetown has proved their doubters wrong so far and look to get another major win against a Sweet 16 regular.

NHL Boston Bruins vs New Jersey Devils - Timmy Thomas and his East leading Bruins look give themselves a little distance from other powerhouses in the East.

Now that we have finally flipped the calendar to 2012, there are many sporting events to look forward to this year. Here is a list of our top 10 upcoming 2012 events based on sales so far.
1 - 2012 Summer Games in London
2 - 2012 UEFA Euro Cup
3 - Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis
4 - Masters Golf Tournament
5 - Kentucky Derby
6 - US Open Tennis Tournament
7 - Wimbledon Tennis Tournament
8 - Rugby RBS Six Nations Cup
9 - Washington Capitals Playoff Tickets
10 - NASCAR Richmond Under The Lights

Sports on the Tube
Washington Capitals vs Calgary Flames (7PM CSN) - The Caps are red hot and looking for their 4^th straight win while Mike green makes his return. Prediction: Caps 3, Flames 1
BCS Sugar Bowl (8PM ESPN) - This bowl season has been awesome, especially on Monday so hopefully Michigan and Virginia Tech can give us another thriller. Prediction: Va Tech 24, Michigan 27
English Premier League Liverpool vs Manchester City (ESPN2) - Man City looking to continue stronger play against nearby rival Liverpool. Prediction - Man City 2, Liverpool 0