For many US football fans, going to a Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
For three octogenarians, it is something they have done every year since 1967, and plan to do again today when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56.
“You gotta be old to be in this club,” said Don Crisman, 85, as he sipped a Bloody Mary with fellow superfans Tom Henschel, 80, and Gregory Eaton, 82.
Photo: AFP
They are members of the exclusive “Never Miss a Super Bowl Club,” as they are the only three fans who have attended every edition of the NFL championship game since its inception.
The game is the ultimate sporting spectacle, with more than 100 million Americans expected to watch on television, and many more worldwide.
A dazzling halftime show complements the action on the field, with entertainment provided by major stars of rap and R&B.
Tickets sell out fast, with some of the best seats going for US$40,000 each.
It is all a far cry from their first game, Henschel said.
“My tickets were actually US$12. Now, the last two years: US$2,500 face value,” he said.
The club started with Super Bowl 17 in 1983 when Henschel and Crisman bumped into each other while waiting to watch the Los Angeles filming of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
“We were standing in line right next to each other,” said Henschel, who overheard Crisman and a friend talking about their regular attendance.
“I thought I was the only one who’d gone to every game,” he said. “And so we end up calling ourselves ‘Never Missed a Super Bowl Club.’”
Other club stalwarts have since died, but Crisman and Henschel were delighted to induct a new member for Super Bowl 51, when they met fellow lifelong fan Eaton.
“It’s been fun ever since I met these guys,” Eaton said.
“We’re the only three in the world that bought our own tickets to every Super Bowl,” he added.
Crisman, who still has the straw boater he wore at the first game, says a lot has changed in the past 56 years, including the halftime show.
“I remember they had two college bands for halftime and they let a basket of pigeons go,” he said.
Today’s lineup is expected to feature Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar — although Crisman is not really looking forward to that part.
“I’m not into today’s music,” he said. “If they could bring back my favorite, Diana Ross, I’d be in heaven.”
Despite their age, they insist they will keep attending the games.
“Really the guy upstairs is in charge,” Crisman said.
“I had some health issues, and in November I said: ‘This is the final one,’” he said. “But now that I got together with these guys again, I’m thinking maybe I can squeeze another one in.”
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