FAN-TASTIC XLV
As planes full of Super Bowl ticketholders start landing in Texas, some of them will be carrying Butler County residents and the ubiquitous Terrible Towel.
Ken and Catherine Bronder of Butler Township will be among the throng of Steelers well-wishers, along with their daughter, Nicole Robinson, and her husband, Jason.
“It's great for the team, great for Pittsburgh and great for the area,” Ken Bronder said of the game.
Being a Steelers season ticket holder, Bronder was entered into a lottery for Super Bowl tickets. He received four tickets and paid $800 per ticket.
The family was to fly to Dallas today and return Monday. Bronder said they don't have any set plans on what to do in the days leading up to the game.
Bronder said parking at the game will be hard to come by and expensive. He said he heard reports of a Taco Bell near the stadium that is selling spots for $300. However, his daughter found a lot that will allow them to park for $95. The lot will feature a tailgate party and will provide a shuttle to the stadium. For home games, Bronder has his own Steelers bus for tailgating, but the bus won't be heading to Dallas.
This is not the first Super Bowl that Bronder will attend.
He went to Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 in Tampa, when the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2009, he did not get tickets through the lottery, but from another person he knew who could not go. Bronder paid $3,000 per ticket at that time.
When he was in Tampa, he mostly saw Steelers fans.
“It seemed like, everyone you ran into, until Sunday, was wearing Steelers stuff,” Bronder said.
He expects there to be a near equal number of Steelers and Packers fans at this Super Bowl.
He also said the police in Tampa did not allow tailgating outside the stadium. Despite this, he enjoyed the event and is excited about this year's Super Bowl.
“It's just a big hoopla,” Bronder said.
Planning a trip to the Super Bowl is a wow moment for Gail Paserba.“I just cannot believe we are going,” the Butler Township resident said about her first trip to a Super Bowl.A Steelers season ticket holder for the past four years, Paserba and her husband, Tom, won a lottery for the opportunity to buy tickets at $830 a pop.Not only did they opt to buy and keep their tickets, but their two adult sons also got tickets and are planning to go.“They may end up on our hotel room floor ... that'll take us back,” Paserba said, as her sons have yet to find a hotel room.Gail and Tom secured a room only a mile and a half from the stadium.Tom, who often travels as owner of International Quality Consultants, said one of his largest clients is based in that area, so he's familiar. And his regular hotel reservations earned him a guaranteed room.“Sometimes work has its perks,” Gail said.They're leaving Thursday and returning Monday.In addition to attending the big game, the Paserbas plan to meet up with friends from Pittsburgh and Dallas and attend the NFL experience.“We're anxious to find out what this is all about,” Tom said. “And bring back a win.”
Bill O'Donnell is going back to the Super Bowl.O'Donnell, 55, of Butler is headed to Dallas this weekend by way of Houston. He and his wife, Sue, are flying into Houston Thursday.They are staying with a longtime friend, Barry Frenchak, a former Butler resident who has been running a construction business with his brothers in Houston since 1979.“We're making the 3½-hour drive to Dallas Thursday,” O'Donnell said. “Barry's going with us. We're staying at a motel a mile and a half from the stadium for the weekend, his treat.“I told him we'd try to get him a ticket to the game. I hope he doesn't get mad if we don't.”This marks the 12th time O'Donnell is making a Super Bowl trip. On three of the previous occasions, he failed to land a ticket to the game.“They usually have a place outside of the stadium you can watch the game,” he said.He has no such worries now. A Steelers season ticket holder for 30 years, he and his wife were selected in the Steeler fans Super Bowl lottery this time around.They had only gotten Super Bowl tickets through the fans' lottery once before.“We've always been big football fans,” O'Donnell said. “When the Steelers made the Super Bowl in the 1970s, I was in college and couldn't afford to go.“The first time we ever got Super Bowl tickets was 1994, the year San Diego beat us in the AFC Championship Game. I went after tickets because I was sure the Steelers would make it that year. We still went and the whole experience made me want to keep going back.”O'Donnell said making a Super Bowl trip isn't just about the game itself.“It's the whole experience,” he said. “The people, the production, the elaborate halftime show, the NFL Experience all week near the stadium.“Former players are there signing autographs, there's memorabilia available from every NFL team ... You never know who you might run into down there.”While Sue O'Donnell has made trips to the Super Bowl site a few other times, she never attended the game until the Steelers' 27-23 win over Arizona two years ago in Tampa.“I was hooked at that point,” she said. “I've always been a die-hard Steelers fan. I want to be there to support them.“Seeing all of the people waving the towels, the spirit in the air ... You can't help but get caught up in it.”Eagle staff writers John Bojarski and Kim Paskorz, and Eagle Sports Editor John Enrietto contributed to this report.
