First, let’s go back to the beginning.
The NFL announced in February that the Bolts were playing in Brazil and that they would be the designated.
Chris Smith, the Chargers Director of Equipment Operations, and his staff sprang into action.
The first item on their list — no pun intended — was to create a to-do list.
That included a carnet, which is a travel document that details any item that will make the trip to São Paulo.
“It’s everything that is going to Brazil from every department,” Smith said.
But Smith and his staff of Duddy, plus equipment assistants Chad Jessop, Tasso Panopoulos and Tristan Greene couldn’t just make an itemized list.
It was more detailed than that.
The carnet had to include every single item, plus how much it weighs, where it was made, how much it costs and a serial number for all electronics.
The final version of the Chargers carnet ended up including hundreds of items — including everything from dental floss to eye black to multiple shoe dryers — that the Chargers will need in South America.
But again, all of that stuff left The Bolt last Tuesday at 7 a.m., which was hours before the team was required to submit their initial 53-man roster to the league.
It arrived in New Jersey a few days later before the NFL flew it all, along with all of the Chiefs gear, on a cargo plane to Brazil. Everything landed in São Paulo on Sunday morning.
“We had to pack everything,” Duddy said. “Players who got released, their stuff will be in Brazil. We had no choice.”
“It’s better to be overprepared out there than underprepared, because there’s no jumping back here and getting something if you left it,” Duddy added.
While the carnet was the biggest obstacle to tackle, the Chargers also had other logistics to figure out, too.
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