Cross-country trips to attend sporting events are no joke. The list of potential obstacles is seemingly endless: missed flights, wrong turns, weather delays, uncomfortable accommodations. However, one James Madison fan overcame the odds this week, embarking on an Amtrak trip from Washington, D.C., to Eugene, Ore., to see his alma mater play in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
As a student at JMU in the early 2000s, Chris Comerford attended every home game and many away contests. His four brothers and sisters all attended the university, along with his girlfriend. The year after he graduated, the Dukes won the FCS national title in 2004 for the first time. They won again in 2016 and made the jump to FBS in 2022. Twenty-five years after he started at JMU, Comerford, 43, is watching his Dukes in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
He is now in Eugene and ready to go for Saturday\u2019s contest between the Ducks and Dukes<\/a>, but his adventure wasn\u2019t without a few twists and turns, one he documented on social media. It all started last Thursday, Dec. 11, in the nation\u2019s capital \u2014 the beginning of an 11-day trip across America that included planes, trains and automobiles, not to mention wind, rain, snow and a pressing need to do laundry.<\/p>\n Dec. 11: Acela Train from D.C. Union Station<\/p>\n My crazy 11 day adventure starts at Union Station! Follow along in this thread!<\/p>\n We\u2019re starting with the Ascella first class from DC to New York City. A couple days in New York and the commanders game at the Giants stadium.<\/p>\n Next step I\u2019m taking a train from New York to Chicago\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/KrGjq6Owpy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Comerford, who lives in Fairfax, Va., and runs a video production company, began his journey up the Eastern Seaboard, taking the Acela regional train from D.C. to New York\u2019s Penn Station. He spent the weekend in the New York City, including trying renowned pizza spot L\u2019Industrie.<\/p>\n l\u2019industry it\u2019s a hot pizza slice it\u2019s very delicious. Get the hot salami. pic.twitter.com\/Eed1BokK88<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Dec. 14: Washington Commanders game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t take a picture at one of the most fun tailgates in my entire life because it was snowing, but here we are in an empty MetLife Stadium pic.twitter.com\/bXFUmBKpP1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n A die-hard Commanders fan, Comerford has traveled to every game this season. After watching eight straight losses in person, Comerford saw Washington pick up a 29-21 win over the New York Giants.<\/p>\n He returned to New York City just in time for a snowstorm.<\/p>\n Dec. 15: Boarded train headed to Chicago<\/p>\n The following day, Comerford\u2019s trip truly began. He hopped on the Lake Shore Limited overnight train bound for Chicago, sleeping on board as the train made its way through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.<\/p>\n last night we boarded the Lake Shore Limited Amtrak train from New York to Chicago. And of course, I\u2019m up at sunset to take in the views. Go out and buy yourself an @Amtrak<\/a> train ticket for Christmas. It is so fun. pic.twitter.com\/SuOPf6wQWV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Dec. 16: Arrived in Chicago, boarded train to Seattle<\/p>\n Comerford arrived in Chicago on Tuesday morning. He stopped for a Chicago hot dog during his two-hour layover.<\/p>\n we have arrived in Chicago for a two hour layover and in two hours I went to three Chicago hotdog spots lol. Today we hit up Portillo\u2019s, the Home Depot secret hotdog, and Jims original. My favorite hot dog in Chicago is the Home Depot dog and that has not changed although\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kLJ0eKRnP1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It was then time for the part of the trip Comerford had most looked forward to. He has made a habit of trips like this. When JMU played in the Boca Raton Bowl last year, Comerford took a train from D.C. to New Orleans via Chicago. He then flew to Orlando, Fla., and took the train to the Miami area from there. As soon as he saw that James Madison was playing in Oregon, he decided it was a perfect time to take Amtrak to the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n \u201cI love traveling on trains,\u201d Comerford said in a phone interview. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of the Amtrak routes, and there\u2019s one that I\u2019ve never done, and it was the one up to Portland. I\u2019ve been looking at doing that for years and years. So once I saw that JMU was playing up in that area, I immediately, right away, was like, I\u2019ve got to do it for this game. It\u2019s the perfect opportunity to do something I wanted to do forever.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan was to take the Empire Builder train from Chicago to Seattle, arriving Thursday morning. There, Comerford would attend the \u201cThursday Night Football\u201d matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams before heading down to Eugene over the weekend. It sounded great, if all went according to plan.<\/p>\n Dec. 16-17: Train through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota<\/p>\n The Empire Builder left Chicago on Tuesday and began its journey through the Midwest. Comerford rode through Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, noting just how remote his surroundings were. There was snow on the ground, which was a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n I decided to take a train from Washington DC to Eugene, Oregon to watch my team JMU in the college football playoffs. It was an epic journey through multiple cities\u2026. But all of a sudden, in the middle of Montana, things started to go wrong\u2026<\/p>\n Now the question is even though the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/hrtRSW9YVi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Dec. 17: Snow and wind in Montana<\/p>\n As the train hit Montana on Wednesday, things took a turn for the worse.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ever travel on Amtrak, there are a lot of delays,\u201d Comerford said. \u201cAnd a lot of them are uncontrollable by Amtrak because of the weather and stuff. So basically, as we\u2019re hitting Montana, a blizzard comes and kind of comes through where we\u2019re going. Seventy-mile-an-hour winds and snow, so the train has to go really, really slow. Like 20 miles an hour or less for miles and miles. So it eventually, just going that slow, got us behind several hours.\u201d<\/p>\n Update: #1 pic.twitter.com\/zDtvVqGI3l<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Due to the snow in Montana, the Empire Builder was delayed about 12 hours. At first, it was the Seahawks game off the table. Soon though, Comerford realized he was in danger of missing JMU. Around the town of Glasgow, Mont., passengers were informed that the train would no longer be able to make it to Seattle.<\/p>\n Update: #2 pic.twitter.com\/bS3AdiDJzi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn Washington state, I guess there\u2019s a lot of flooding and mudslides and stuff,\u201d Comerford said. \u201cSo the train couldn\u2019t continue all the way to Seattle. And if it did continue all the way to Seattle, I would never make it to Eugene because it would take way too long to get there. And then I\u2019d be kind of stuck up there, as I was on the train with barely any reception. I still thought we\u2019d make it to Seattle, so I bought a (Seahawks) ticket from my phone and then realized as we were getting there that they\u2019re going to cancel this train. I ended up selling it on my phone for no loss of money.\u201d<\/p>\n At Spokane, the train line splits, with one line headed south to Portland and the other going north to Seattle. With the trains stopping in Spokane, passengers were told they would be boarding buses to their destinations. Comerford\u2019s ticket was to Seattle rather than Portland, and with the slow bus ride through bad weather, he feared he\u2019d make it to Seattle far too late to have any chance to get to Eugene in time for Saturday. While on the train, he booked a flight from Spokane to Portland, hoping it would be safe enough to fly. Because he was posting about his trip struggles on social media though, Comerford was offered rides to Eugene by Oregon fans, a tailgate invitation and a free stay at a house.<\/p>\n Update: #4 the Oregon fans and the JMU fans and the college football fans have been so nice since this blew up. Multiple people have offered me a ride to Eugene, many people have invited me to their tailgate, and at least one person has invited me to stay at their house for free\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/XhpJKY9sJz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt just made me feel happy inside,\u201d Comerford said. \u201cIt\u2019s just so cool. It just makes you feel really happy that people would like want to help you do something. Because I do this for fun, and a lot of people are like, \u2018Why on the train? Why are you doing this?\u2019 But when people are excited about what I was doing, it really makes me almost emotional to see all the help people give. And I kind of laugh it off a little bit at this point in my life because I have a nice job and can afford to do certain things. But I can imagine, if somebody else was less fortunate, these people would just help them out. You know, they do whatever they could to help the person out.\u201d<\/p>\n Dec. 18: Train arrives in Spokane<\/p>\n At long last, the train arrived at 1 p.m. Thursday in Spokane, two hours after it had been scheduled to reach Seattle. Comerford\u2019s flight to Portland was scheduled to leave at 7 p.m., but he realized there was an earlier flight that left in just over an hour.<\/p>\n finally! We are off the train! I slept on board trains for three straight nights. We were on there for four total days and man does it feel good to be on solid ground. Our troubles aren\u2019t completely over because it is snowy\/freezing rain but I think that\u2019s just a perfect welcome\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kSXXouRMle<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOh, my goodness, I can get to the airport and get that flight,\u201d Comerford said he thought. \u201cSo I called an Uber. It was there in basically a minute. The airport\u2019s like a 10-minute drive. Nobody at the airport, no security ramp. Went through it real quick and changed my flight and got on the earlier flight so that I could even get to Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n Dec. 18: Flight to Portland, catches Blazers game<\/p>\n Despite a wintery mix of snow and rain, the flight from Spokane took off and made it safely to Portland.<\/p>\n we have finally made it to the correct state! We\u2019re only one segment away from our final destination of Eugene! booked a hotel here in Portland and I\u2019ve got a train to Eugene tomorrow but let\u2019s have some fun in Portland! If you have any recommendations, let me know, but I have a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/GNz1nMRUc8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n In his Uber from the airport, the driver informed Comerford that the Trail Blazers were in town. There could be a precursor to the JMU game after all. Comerford found a $20 ticket on StubHub and spent his Thursday evening at the Moda Center before returning to his hotel.<\/p>\n Tonight I was supposed to be at the Seahawks game in Seattle. But as you saw the train did not make it there. Turns out the trailblazers are at home! So I still got to go to a cool other team game. And guess what at least 15 Oregon fans came up to me and didn\u2019t even fake talk\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/rEOn0FHReN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 DMV Adventures (@DMVAdventures) December 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Dec. 19: Train from Portland to Eugene, and a request<\/p>\n After a much-needed rest in his hotel, Comerford was set to take the train from Portland to Eugene on the Amtrak Cascades line. But he had one request for the kind Oregon fans who had offered to help. A place to do laundry? With all the weather issues and limited suitcase space, Comerford had run out of dry clothes.<\/p>\n just inserting this here to see if the magic of college football can help a Duke dog out\u2026 lololol \ud83d\ude01\ud83d\ude01\ud83d\ude01\ud83d\ude01 pic.twitter.com\/YEzBKDjJuM<\/a><\/p>\n