Celebrity Tailgate: Rafe Furst

05/08

In the past ten years, the game of poker has become a phenomenon, and provided the perfect playground for a pack of dot com era playboys. After making his silicon fortune, Rafe Furst moved on to a new life as one of the more colorful members of the Tilt Boys.

What's this got to do with tailgating? It all starts one night in Africa, where Rafe and poker pal Phil Gordon were on safari and lamenting (over "too many beers") that they'd never seen their own country the way they were seeing Africa. They concocted a plan to hit the road and spend a whole year traveling America via RV. By the end of the night, The Ultimate Sports Adventure, a 370 day tour of an eclectic mix of 150 sporting events, was born.

Q: The first question people want to know is how did you get into professional poker?

A: Well, during my teenage years I played the standard nickel/dime/ quarter at home. In college I started a home game that is still going 17 years later. I didn't ever see poker as a career path. It just happened.

Q: How did you meet Phil?

A: We met in a card room, and hit it off. I invited him to my home game, and the rest is history.

Q: How long did it take you from the idea of the Ultimate Sports Adventure to being on the road?

A: We started the Ultimate Sports Adventure in San Diego at the Super Bowl in 2003, and we were on the road through the 2004 Super Bowl. It was only 9 months earlier in Victoria Falls that the adventure was created.

Q: What was your expectation of the tailgate parties and the people?

A: I had no idea the lengths that people go to for their tailgates. We didn't even go into a few events because we were having such a good time in the parking lots. After 150 events, I have a true appreciation for the 'art' of tailgating.

Q: What tailgate party and what food made the biggest impression on your tour?

A: Well, I think the Florida/Georgia football game in Florida was very impressive. They call it the World's Largest Cocktail Party, and it was awesome. And the food that impressed me was the Deep Fried Turkey. We were in the infield at the Daytona 500 and were introduced to it. It was so moist. I now have a love for deep fried turkey, and any deep fried meats for that matter.

Q: Now, I traveled in an RV with my family, tailgating for two years. Along the way, we would regularly update our website with photos and stories. Tell me about your site, and the idea behind it?

A: We wanted to let folks know what we were doing and share our incredible experience. We used the opportunity to help raise money for the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation (preventcancer.org). We raised $100,000 for them and continue to sit on the board today. With the website, we did a blog with pictures when that sort of thing wasn't even around yet. We just wanted to let everyone know where we were and what was happening.

Q: What did you take away from your experience?

A: I found that the people out there, no matter where we were and what type of sport we were at, they took us into their tailgate party and treated us like family. We made some great friends, and we are still friends with those people today.

For more stories and some pictures from the tour, visit UltimateSportsAdventure.com and for more on Rafe Furst, visit RafeFurst.com.