Trio have not missed Super Bowl since 1967

LOS ANGELES • For many American football fans, going to a Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime special event.

But, for three elderly American men, it's something they have done every year since 1967, and will be doing again today when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

"You gotta be old to be in this club," said Don Crisman, 85, as he sipped a bloody mary with fellow superfans Tom Henschel, 80, and Gregory Eaton, 82.

The three are members of the ultra-exclusive "Never Miss A Super Bowl Club", the only three fans who have attended every edition of the National Football League (NFL) championship game since its inception.

The game is the ultimate sporting spectacle, with more than 100 million Americans expected to watch on television, and many more around the globe.

A dazzling half-time show complements the action on the field, with today's entertainment provided by major stars of rap and R&B. Tickets sell out fast, with some of the very best going for US$40,000 (S$53,900) each.

It's all a far cry from the very first game, said Henschel. "My tickets were actually $12. Now, the last two years, $2,500 face value."

The club got going at Super Bowl XVII in 1983 when Henschel and Crisman bumped into each other while waiting to watch the Los Angeles filming of the Johnny Carson show.

"We were standing in line right next to each other," said Henschel, who overheard Crisman and a friend talking about their regular attendance.

Other club stalwarts have since died, but Crisman and Henschel were delighted to get a new member for Super Bowl LI, when they met fellow lifelong fan Eaton.

"It's been fun ever since I met these guys," Eaton said. "We're the only three in the world that bought our own tickets to every Super Bowl."

Crisman says a lot has changed in the last 56 years - including the half-time show. "I remember they had two college bands for half-time and they let a basket of pigeons go," he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE