QUICK SLANT

Dennis and Jeanne Alstott, the parents of Tampa Bay rookie
fullback Mike Alstott, have traveled to every single sporting
event their son has played in for the last 16 years. They
started out making round-trips of four or five miles from their
home in Joliet, Ill., for peewee sports. At each new level of
competition the distance has increased. Thirty miles per game in
high school begat seasons totaling 3,000 miles while Mike was at
Purdue. This year the Alstotts are on their way to topping
30,000 miles.

Their shortest trip this season was a 55-mile drive to the Bucs'
game at Chicago's Soldier Field. Their longest was a 3,580-mile
trek to San Diego and back to watch Mike collect 92 all-purpose
yards and score a TD. "We love watching Mike play. It's our
whole life," says Jeanne. "We don't think about the miles. We
just go."

Since 1980 Dennis, who's a supervisor at an environmental
company, and Jeanne, who works at a local Jewel Food grocery,
have racked up about 75,000 miles. They save money by booking
flights months in advance, but they may face a costly trip soon.
Mike leads the Bucs with 55 receptions, so a Pro Bowl trip to
Hawaii isn't out of the question.

--D.F.

COLOR PHOTO: AL TIELEMANS [Dennis Alstott, Mike Alstott, and Jeanne Alstott]

COLOR ILLUSTRATION [Drawing of odometer reading 750000.9]