Super streak at 54 and counting
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Henschel popped the cork off a bottle of champagne a few weeks ago.
Now he's given Cabot neighbor Jay Wagner a reason to do the same.
Henschel, who turns 79 in March, has attended every Super Bowl game. He lives in Tampa during the fall and winter months.
Don Crisman, 82, of Maine has also attended every Super Bowl and sits with Henschel annually for the big game.
“A huge New England Patriots fan,” Henschel said of Crisman. “I hear it from him every year. He was chirping earlier this season that New England was going to get back to the Super Bowl again, especially after they pounded the Steelers in Week 1.
“When Tennessee beat them in the first round (of the playoffs), I was so, so happy. I opened a bottle of champagne that night. I don't think we'll see the Patriots back in the Super Bowl anytime soon.”
The Super Bowl will see Henschel again, however. Ever since he was given tickets to the first Super Bowl game while working at an airport in Chicago, he's never missed.
The highest-priced ticket to the first Super Bowl was $12.
Henschel paid $1,700 per ticket to attend this Sunday's game. His seats are in the first row of the upper deck, near midfield. The NFL has been sending him an invoice for Super Bowl tickets annually for the past 35 years.
Henschel and Crisman were believed to be the only two people to attend every Super Bowl game. Last year, a third person — Gregory Eaton of Lansing, Mich. — emerged, claiming to have attended them all.
“I don't know if he has all the ticket stubs to prove it like Don and I do,” Henschel said.
“The 49ers haven't won the Super Bowl in 25 years and the Chiefs haven't been there in 50. There's tons of fans from both cities looking for tickets. Scalpers are going to get $4,500 or so, at least.”
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens is hosting Super Bowl LIV and seats 65,000.
“That's not a whole lot for a Super Bowl,” Henschel said of the seating capacity. “The NFL let me buy three tickets last year. This year, I only got two.”
The other one is going to Wagner, who has known Henschel for decades. This will be his first Super Bowl.
Wagner turns 50 in March.
“This is like an early birthday present,” Wagner said. “I used to be Tom's paper boy years ago. We've been friends since those days. I've always hoped he would take me to one of those games.”
So has Wagner been dropping hints?
“Every year,” he said, laughing.
Henschel has been spreading the tickets around through those years.
He's taken all three of his sisters to a Super Bowl. He took one brother (now deceased) twice, another 25 times. His father has been to five Super Bowls — including the first four in which the Steelers played — his mother to two.
“My wife has gone 13 times. I have five nephews and two nieces. They've all gone as well,” Henschel said.
Henschel adds his ticket stub to a picture in a frame every year. His wife, Regina, convinced him to notify the NFL of his Super Bowl attendance streak years ago.
“It was before the 13th Super Bowl,” Henschel recalled. “She wrote a poem that read 'Tom Henschel's my name, football's my game, 12 are in the frame, 13 is my aim.' We sent that to the NFL and the NFL sold us four tickets.“A few years later, I started getting the invoice every year.”Super Bowl XIII is Henschel's favorite. The Steelers defeated Dallas 35-31 in that game.“I took my father to that one and it was a great game, high scoring, back and forth,” he said. “It was just a great thing he and I shared that day. I'll never forget it.”His favorite Super Bowl city is New Orleans.“Everything is in the French Quarter there and you can rub elbows with all the players, coaches and celebrities,” Henschel said. “It's a great party town.“Down in Miami, everything will be spread out. I'm sure we're going to miss some things.”Wagner doesn't care. He flies to Florida Thursday.“I can't wait ... trip of a lifetime,” he said.Henschel is renting a three-bedroom house, just a few miles from the stadium, for four days.He will drive three-plus hours to Miami early this weekend after picking Wagner up at the Tampa airport.“The NFL does an annual luncheon for Don and myself,” he said. “We have to be there at 10 a.m. Friday, lunch is at 11, then reporters, radio and TV stations interview us from noon to 2. It's fun.“I save my money all year for the Super Bowl trip. I have other family members coming down just to party. We eat at expensive restaurants. There's been years when I've made reservations months in advance. This is my fancy time.“No fast food this weekend, that's for sure,” he added.Henschel's ultimate goal is to make it to 60 Super Bowls.“I'm not getting any younger and this gets tougher each year,” he admitted. “God-willing, I'll get there. This is what I do.”Henschel is picking Kansas City to win.“That quarterback, that offense ... just too much,” he said. “But this has the makings to be one of the best Super Bowls yet.”
