While Tom Brady gets ready to play in his ninth Super Bowl in 19 NFL seasons, Kennebunk resident Don Crisman is busy making preparations to attend his 53rd Super Bowl in 53 years.
Crisman is one of just three remaining members of the Never Miss A Super Bowl Club – Tom Henschel of Pennsylvania and Gregory Eaton of Michigan are the other two.
There are also a few others the NFL recognizes as having been to each and every Super Bowl that’s been played. Several sports reporters and photographers as well as longtime groundskeeper extraordinaire George Toma and Norma Hunt, the widow of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, have attended all previous games. In addition, there are a few more fans from a group known as the Super 5 Club.
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And that notoriety means at this time of year Crisman is an international celebrity for being among that small group of people who have been to every Super Bowl since the inaugural game in Los Angeles in January 1967.
“The first two Super Bowls weren’t even called the Super Bowl,” said Crisman. In 1967 and 1968 when the NFL champion met the AFL champion (they were two separate leagues then), the game was called the World Championship of Football. It wasn’t until the 1969 game that the NFL began calling the championship game the “Super Bowl.”
Crisman will leave on Thursday with his daughter Susan. “She’s been with me for four of the last five Super Bowls,” he noted. And his two sons, Don and Daryl are also heading to Atlanta despite knowing that the four-person group only has three tickets. “We’ll need to find another ticket when we get there.”
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This 53rd trip was in jeopardy last summer when Crisman became ill and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He dropped 30 pounds from July to October and spent 10 days in the hospital at one point.
“I was thinking maybe my Super Bowl adventure was going to be over,” said Crisman. “But they changed my medication (in October) and I’ve been doing much better since.”
The 82-year-old Crisman would have hated to have seen his streak end especially with his Patriots getting into their third straight Super Bowl. “Of course it’s more stressful when the Patriots are in the game,” said Crisman. “But it’s also more fun when they win.”
His favorite games include Super Bowl LI (New England’s overtime win against Atlanta), Super Bowl XLIX (Malcolm Butler’s interception sealing New England’s win over Seattle), Super Bowl III (New York Jets beating Baltimore), Super Bowl IV (Kansas City beating Minnesota), Super Bowl XXXVI (New England’s first ever championship) and Super Bowl XXXVIII (New England’s last second win over Carolina).
He still has the stub from the first Super Bowl back on Jan. 15, 1967 in the Los Angeles Coliseum — a game won by Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers over the Kansas City Chiefs. His $12 cost for that ticket is a far cry from what he has to spend nowadays. “The NFL saves a block of tickets for us but we have to buy them,” said Crisman adding that the NFL did foot the bill for all the “never-missers” for the entire Super Bowl L anniversary weekend.
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Looking back over the decades brings back endless memories. He remembers York County Coast Star editor Sandy Brook reaching out to him before Super Bowl X and that Brook suggested he do a chronological type of story about Crisman’s five days at the event.
“We already had our tickets but he made a press pass for me with my photo,” he recalled. “And when I got to the game and went to the media tent I was given a press pin.”
Atlanta’s Convention Bureau is having a luncheon for the “never-missers” next week and that’s just one of many pre-game events Crisman will go to and be a part of.
He’s enjoyed his long string of Super Bowls and the unforgettable moments the games have provided and the many, many wonderful folks he’s met along the way.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my friends,” said Crisman about yet another Super Bowl weekend. “People are important. Half of what it’s about is seeing these guys you’ve known for 50 years.”
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