At 84, Harrison native Tom Henschel won’t let a stroke — or disappointment in his beloved Steelers — keep him from celebrating at the Super Bowl this weekend in Santa Clara, Calif.
After all, why break a 59-year streak?
The football enthusiast will be in the stands at Levi’s Stadium when the Seattle Seahawks battle the New England Patriots for the Lombardi Trophy.
It will mark Henschel’s 60th Super Bowl appearance, a record held by only three people in the exclusive “Never Miss a Super Bowl” club, which includes Don Crisman of Maine and Gregory Eaton of Michigan.
The trio have forged an unbreakable bond over six decades, Henschel said.
“All I’m hoping for is a big Seattle win,” said Henschel, who now lives in Tampa, Fla. “I hate New England with a passion.”
Henschel credits his lifelong love of the game to his father, who would take Henschel and his brother, Jim, to Har-Brack High School games and then later to see the Pitt Panthers and the Steelers play.
Never in his wildest dreams, though, did he envision himself sitting in the stands for 60 Super Bowls.
That first year, when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, Lyndon Johnson was president and tickets cost $12. Fans had to wear a suit and tie to get in.
“Oh, how times have changed,” Henschel said.
This year’s seat in the corner of the end zone cost him $2,750.
“I can’t complain. I had five of the first six years given to me by Chicago Bears players,” he said. “I was a part-time bartender and they would come in to chase the beautiful girls. I became friends with them.”
A retired ticket agent for Eastern Airlines, Henschel said games hovered below $20 for years and “I flew for free!”
Over the years, Henschel has attended 31 Super Bowls with his brother, 13 with his wife and one with a cousin from Los Angeles — “I took her to the first game. I never saw her before or after,” he said.
This year, he’ll make the trip with his sister, Janee Wislie of Harrison, and his niece, Megan Lowry of Buffalo Township.
“My daughter has never been and, truthfully, we could probably go to Disney for the week for what it costs, but it’s going to be fun,” Wislie said.
This will be Wislie’s second trip to a Super Bowl. She was fortunate enough to be in attendance in 2009 when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa.
“To be at a Super Bowl is something special, but to have the Steelers play, that was once-in-a-lifetime,” Wislie said.
For Henschel, the game will be a repeat of Super Bowl 49, but one he hopes will have a different outcome.
“The Seahawks could’ve won that game. They got all the way to the 1-yard line at the end and they threw an interception,” Henschel recalled.
“They should’ve ran the ball.”
Either way, he’ll be sporting the Steelers’ black and gold. He’ll be decked out for the NFL tailgate, which hosts former players, coaches and celebrities, and Monday, too, for an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Henschel suspects this will be the last hoorah for the trio — but he also said that last year, so “don’t hold me to it,” he said.
“When I did 40, I thought I could make 50 and then I wanted to try for 60,” he said. “I doubted it, but here I am, so I’m going.
“It’s hard to pass up because it’s such a good time.”