Never Miss a Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl always means great commercials. (They better be great if they cost millions just to air…just sayin’). These great commercials have a tendency to take up residency in some part of our brains for a long, long time. I’ve got one of those. One could argue that these sticky buggers are terribly annoying, but when they’re narrated by Morgan Freeman, they’re fine by me. The one that’s still lodged in my brain is the Visa commercial from 2010 about the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club. (Some ad man on Madison Avenue just jumped out of his seat with joy). I think the reason for this resonance is pretty clear: these 70-something-year-old men may be the greatest NFL fans on planet Earth. Why? They have never.missed.a.Super.Bowl. Ever.

When the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 to win Super Bowl XLIX a little over a week ago, I’m guessing 77-year-old Don Crisman, 74-year-old Larry Jacobson and 72-year-old Tom Henschel were in attendance. (Sadly, the long-time fourth member of their club, Robert Cook, died in 2011 at age 79). These impressive guys have been to every Super Bowl since the 1967 inaugural game when the Packers beat the Chiefs.

These guys take dedication to a new level. As a fan of fans, I am a fan of theirs! (A tip of the hat, gentlemen)…

Incidentally, and as an interesting side note….Crisman’s streak nearly came to an end at Super Bowl XXXII in 1998 when he arrived at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego without a ticket. Luckily, a group of doctors happened by with an extra and sold it to Crisman for face value when they heard the story of his amazing streak. The price of that ticket: $300.

The price of each of the men’s tickets to Super Bowl I: $12.

The price of the average ticket to Sunday’s game: $3,950.