Cabot’s Henschel in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII
LAS VEGAS — His speech is slurred. He walks with a cane. His finances become a bigger challenge each year.
But Cabot resident Tom Henschel , now 82, continues to be one of only three people to attend every Super Bowl game. His streak reaches 58 on Sunday when he’ll be in the stands at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
“It’s not the matchup I wanted to see,” Henschel said. “I was hoping for Detroit and Baltimore ... Baltimore because they’re in the Steelers’ division and Detroit because they’ve never been there. That would have been fun to watch.”
Don Crisman of Maine and Gregory Eaton of Michigan are the only others to attend every Super Bowl game. The trio were treated to a lunch by the NFL on Friday — followed by a press conference for the media to ask them questions — and are invited to the massive NFL tailgate party on Saturday.
While Henschel still enjoys the atmosphere of the Super Bowl each year, he admits his streak is nearing the end.
He suffered a mini-stroke in the past year “that’s slowed me down quite a bit. I don’t get around as well as I used to.
“But I’m hoping to make it to 60 Super Bowls. That’s the target,” Henschel added.
A retired airlines worker, Henschel saves his money all year to get to the game. The NFL gives him, Crisman and Eaton access to buy Super Bowl tickets each year. The price for two tickets this year was $7,000. Their seats are in the first row of the second deck, behind an end zone.
Henschel flew to Las Vegas alone on Tuesday and will be attending the game by himself.
“I put the other ticket on a Stub Hub service out here,” he said. “They’ll contact me with the best offer for it. I’m hoping to get a few thousand dollars back. This whole trip will cost me $8,000 or so."
Henschel’s hotel is “about an 18-minute cab ride to the stadium, which isn’t too bad,” he said. “I’m paying $85 a night through Thursday to stay here. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that price jacks up to $350 a night.
“I was bumped off two flights before I could get out of Tampa (his winter home). I couldn’t get a direct flight. We stopped over in Detroit first. This is getting harder and harder.”
When Henschel attended the first Super Bowl, the ticket price was $13 and the stadium was not close to sold out.
“They gouge you on these trips now,” he said.
An avid football fan his entire life, Henschel is a 1960 graduate of the former Har-Brack High School. He was a ball boy for the high school football team as a youngster and later played football himself.
Also a devoted Steelers fan, Henschel continues to wear Steelers garb to every Super Bowl.
“I want people to know who my team is and I’m proud of the tradition the Steelers have in the Super Bowl,” he said. “And people in the stands also comment in a positive way about Steeler Nation. They tell me we have the best football fans in the country. I love hearing that.”
While he’s having a hard time picking a winner on Sunday, saying only that “it’s hard to go against (KC QB Patrick) Mahomes,” Henschel said her’s looking forward to seeing a good game.
“I have to admit, I don’t get as much joy out of these trips that I used to, but the Super Bowl is in Vegas for the first time and Iove to gamble ... That’s not too bad.”