Why Tom Henschel’s Super Bowl streak is coming to an end after 60 in San Francisco
TAMPA, Fla. — At age 84, Tom Henschel continues to have a zest for life.
But he’s ending his Super Bowl life at 60.
One of three individuals to attend every Super Bowl, the former Cabot resident — now living in Tampa, Fla. — has decided to end his streak with Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.
“He’s had enough,” said Janee Wislie, Henschel’s sister. “If this was the 59th or 61st Super Bowl, I don’t think he’d be going. But it’s No. 60 and he has to be there. Our family understands that.”
Wislie and her daughter, Megan Lowry, residents of Natrona Heights, are joining Henschel for the game. They flew out of Pittsburgh while Henschel left Tampa on Thursday. All three will be staying together at a bed and breakfast in San Francisco.
Henschel has eight nieces and nephews. Lowry is the only one he hasn’t taken to a Super Bowl game. Wislie attended one other Super Bowl — when the Steelers defeated Arizona in Tampa in 2009. She did not attend that game with Henschel. She bought two tickets, air fare and hotel accommodations for $2,500 at an impromptu auction two days before the game.
“I didn’t even see Tom at the game,” Wislie said.
She’ll be seated alongside him this time. Their three tickets are in the end zone and cost $2,750 each.
“The Super Bowl isn’t for the average fan anymore,” Henschel said. “It’s for high society people now. They’re the only ones who can afford it. The first five Super Bowls, a ticket cost $12.
“When the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts (Super Bowl III), it was one of the most significant games in NFL history. 12 bucks to see it. Crazy.”
Henschel suffered a stroke two years ago. His sister and niece will push him in a wheelchair at the game. While he can still walk and get around on his own, he admits trying to walk around the stadium “is a little much.”
Next year’s Super Bowl is in Los Angeles. That’s one of the reasons Henschel decided this one would be last.
“There’s no way I can navigate that city now. And flying back out to California again? Nah. I’m done. My original goal was to get to 50 Super Bowls. Getting to 60 was never a serious thought for me,” he said.
He and his wife, Regina, will be married 50 years in October. Henschel has taken his wife to 13 Super Bowl games. The couple has sacrificed a lot financially each year for Henschel to continue his streak. They put a little money away each month and pay off bills from the trip for a few months afterward.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into,” Regina said, laughing. “The day after we got married, we had to go to a Steelers game. They were playing the Bengals and Tom had tickets.
“His Super Bowl streak, the way he’s taken all of our family members and friends at one time or another. ... It’s been a blessing, a true blessing.”
Don Crisman, a resident of Maine, and Michigan resident Gregory Eaton are the only others to attend every Super Bowl. Crisman is a New England Patriots fan.
“Don wasn’t gonna go this year,” Henschel said. “Once the Patriots got in, he had to go. I hate sitting next to him when the Patriots are in the game. I hope they lose by 40.”
Henschel, Wislie and Lowry are paying for their own tickets. When Lowry found out her mother was going, she wanted to opt in, as well.
“I told her she could take her family to Disney World for the money she’d be shelling out for this,” Wislie said. “I asked if she was sure she wanted to go. This being Tom’s last one, the fact she’s never been to a Super Bowl, she wasn’t gonna miss it.”
Through contacting the NFL, Lowry arranged for the trio to get complimentary tickets to the NFL Tailgate Party the day of the game and the Taste of the NFL, a culinary experience slated the night before the game.
“Until a few years ago, Tom and the other guys always got tickets to those events,” Wislie said. “The NFL stopped the tickets for a while. Megan got them back in again.”
Henschel predicts the Seahawks to win the game 35-27.
“This has been his legacy,” Regina said of the super streak. “I’m happy for him.”
