Super Streak reaches 57
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The streak continues. Now the question is, for how long.
Cabot resident Tom Henschel arrived in Scottsdale, Ariz,., Thursday night as he prepares to attend Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sunday. Henschel, Maine resident Don Crisman, 86, and Michigan resident Gregory Eaton, 83, are the only three people to be in attendance at every Super Bowl game.
Henschel turns 82 on March 31.
“I know it’s winding down for me,” he admitted. “I’m not having as much fun with it anymore. The tickets keep getting more expensive and some of the people I used to go to the games with have passed on.
“I started getting around with a cane a few months ago. I’m getting up there.”
Henschel paid $7,000 for his two Super Bowl seats this year and his seats are in a corner behind one of the end zones. He is attending Sunday’s game alone — but will be sitting with Crisman and Eaton — and hopes to recoup some of his money by selling the other ticket.
“Last year, I paid $1,000 less and the seats were on the 30-yard line ... It’s getting harder and harder to swing this,” he said.
Henschel is staying in Scottsdale with friends of a friend of his in Tampa, Fla. He spends much of the year residing in the Tampa area.
One thing that hasn’t changed is his love of football and the NFL, along with visiting the Super Bowl host cities.
“This is the fourth one in the Phoenix area and I like this city,” Henschel said. “It’s very upbeat, very classy. The area is beautiful. I remember when the Steelers and Cowboys played out here (Super Bowl XXX). That scene was absolutely crazy.
“There were more than 50,000 Steeler and Cowboy fans milling around, trying to find tickets. The demand was way higher than supply. I’d never seen anything like that.”
Henschel said Eaton has gotten many of his Super Bowl tickets over the years through friendships with a few Detroit Lions players. He was a bit surprised Crisman still has his streak going.
“Don’s health hasn’t been the greatest,” Henschel said. “He said he was going to give it up (the Super Bowl streak) a year or two ago. This may be his last game. We’ve had a lot of fun with each other over the years.
“When we first meet up for the game every year, he gives me the finger, I give him the finger ... he’s a Patriots guy, I’m a Steeler guy, we’ve been rivals for a long time now.”
Henschel was invited to the “Tastes of the NFL” party from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at a restaurant near State Farm Stadium. Tickets to that event are $700 and he — along with Crisman and Eaton — received passes.
He does a number of TV and radio interviews as well.
“I get out to the Super Bowl and a lot of people know me,” Henschel said. “It’s pretty funny, actually.”
As for the game itself, Henschel sees the Philadelphia Eagles winning by 10 points or so.
“That defense is too good and that Kansas City quarterback is a little banged up,” he said.
Next year’s Super Bowl is slated for Las Vegas. Henschel plans on spending a few days in Las Vegas before returning home from Arizona.
“I am looking forward to the game being in Vegas next year,” he said.“ After that ... I just don’t know. If I make it to 60 (Super Bowl games), I’ll end it there. But no one can predict the future.”
