This journey to Reliant Stadium is sort of like “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and Homer’s “Odyssey” rolled into one epic tale even though Bill and Ted won’t be there this time around, and Homer, well, he’s still dead.

The long road to Houston begins in Maine where Windham resident Kyle Rhoads, a former assistant principle at Sherwood Heights in Auburn, and four other rabid Patriots’ fans will meet and huddle in Texas Friday night to complete a passage of self discovery and insanity.

But here’s the catch and it is a humdinger — these fun-loving guys don’t have a ticket to the big dance. When they get there, they will have to scour the streets of Houston for the ultimate prize — a ticket to Super Bowl XXXVIII to watch the fearless Patriots take on the Carolina Panthers.

Kids, don’t try this at home – or in any other state in the union for that matter. Remember, this is a version of “Patriots Fans Gone Wild,” but can you blame them for their tenacity?

These five amigos are pulling out all the stops and their credit cards to fly south with the hope of purchasing a ticket before game time.

Good luck!

“Five of us are going to get there Friday night,” said Rhoads, 34. “We are going to meet right outside Cowboy Stadium (in Dallas).”

From there, these dedicated New England fans will make a five-hour drive on Saturday to Houston, hoping that somebody, anybody, will part with a Super Bowl ticket.

For the past week, Rhoads and his cohorts have been keeping an eye on eBay for tickets.

“We are checking eBay like the stock market,” said Rhoads. “It’s one of those things that you have to do it.”

At this point, Rhoads is deeper in debt to fund a whim that many Patriots fans can only dream about. He figures he has shelled out a whopping $1,600 so far and is willing to pay an additional $1,000 for a ticket to paradise. The face value for a Super seat is $500.

“The credit cards have been out for everything,” said Rhoads. “We all agreed to buy a ticket for $1,000. There is a small window of opportunity for this thing to happen.

“People who spend four or five thousand dollars for the Patriots are going to extremes. We are all hoping those nosebleeds (cost of tickets) start to dive. Hopefully, somebody finds that window of opportunity.”

During the regular season, Rhoads missed only two New England home games that were against the Cowboys and Giants. Two years ago, Rhoads was watching from the end zone when Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal against the Oakland Raiders.

“I am good karma for them,” he said. “I was at every single (home) game they won.”

But he also realizes the five of them just might have to watch all the action at a bar just outside Reliant. Rhoads insists all systems are go for his whirlwind, weekend trip even though he might have a problem in Houston buying a ticket.

“We are excited about our adventure from Dallas to Houston,” said an undeterred Rhoads. “You have got to be a person who wants to have an adventure. We are going low budget. A lot people are staying in Dallas.”

Whether he gets into Reliant or not, Rhoads has no regrets about breaking his bank account to jet across the country to get a glimpse of the Patriots.

“You only live once. You work hard, you play hard,” he said. “I don’t want to talk like a Red Sox fan, but hey, this could be the last time (for the Patriots) for another 20 years.”

Let’s hope not.

Tony Blasi is a staff editor who can be reached at [email protected].