NEW YORK (AP) - Make it 48 Super Bowls in a row for Donald Crisman, Larry Jacobson and Tom Henschel.
The three fans have attended every Super Bowl. The streak began Jan. 15, 1967, when Green Bay beat Kansas City 35-10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They are now in the New York-New Jersey region for Sunday’s game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium
Jacobson, 74, of San Francisco, went to the first game to impress a woman he wanted to date. His airfare, tickets, car, program and dinner for the day “cost less than $100.” The woman he eventually married, Jonell, was his date for Super Bowl XI.
Crissman, 77 of Kennebunkport Beach, Maine, was working in Denver for Capital Federal and pulled free tickets to his first three Super Bowls.
“At an early point I said this could turn into the World Series of football and I think it has,” Crisman said Friday, “and then some.”
Henschel of Natrona Heights, Pa., was working for an airline in Chicago and tending bar at night. He got to know members of the Chicago Bears, who supplied him with tickets early on.
“After three or four years, I said I have to do this every year,” Henschel said.
The trio had a fourth member until two years ago, when Bob Cook of Brown Deer, Wis. died at the age of 79. They also had a ticket for the first Super Bowl, when prices were $6, $10 or $12. Tickets to this year’s game range from $500 to $2,600.
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BEAST MODE: Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch took time Friday night to promote his Fam 1st Family Foundation.
Lynch showed up at a Times Square restaurant with his cousin, Cincinnati quarterback Josh Johnson, and Jennifer Montana, wife of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. The promotion was for a “Beast Mode Key” necklace designed by Montana with sales benefiting Lynch’s foundation.
Lynch became the talk of Super Bowl week with his reluctance to speak to the media and made note of that in his brief comments to an audience of Seahawks fans.
“I’m pretty sure you’re all familiar with what’s been going on about the media and about that action. … Off the field is what I say I identify with. I’ve been with my cousin the last 7 years with our foundation. The football camp that has sponsored about 800 kids, giving them free clothes, free shoes and free access to a lot of things they wouldn’t be able to get without the help from us.
“We get a kick out of it because we get to come back to the neighborhood where we struggled at and give something back to the youth.”
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RADIO ROW: Radio Row at the Super Bowl had an unusual guest show on Friday.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, had a special edition of his weekly Catholic Channel show live from the broadcast center at the league’s media hotel. His guests included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New York Giants co-owner John Mara, who both called into Dolan on the SiriusXM set.
Dolan felt a sense of pride that the game is being played in a region also known for entertainment, communications and finance.
“To see the world zeroed in on us now for sports, Hallelujah,” Dolan said after the show. “For me to feel part of the excitement, to see all these great heroes here, I love it.”
When asked if he had been given any heavenly insight whether the Seahawks or Broncos would win, he said no.
“If I did, I would put a big bet on it and pay off St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” he said with a hearty laugh.
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RAINBOW IN THE SKY: Alaska Airlines, who has an endorsement deal with Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, is having a treat for all passengers flying from Seattle to Newark, N.J. this weekend: Skittles.
The airline posted on its Facebook page Friday that all flights to Newark will have a bag of Skittles waiting for passengers in their seats.
Of course, Skittles is the favored treat of Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. The candy company released a special “Seattle Mix” earlier this week featuring just blue and green candies.
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BIGGEST SCOREBOARD: The Durst Organization has begun lighting the spires of One Bryant Park and Four Times Square in honor of Super Bowl.
When all the lights on the buildings are lit - along with those on neighboring skyscrapers on West 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue - it will form “the world’s tallest scoreboards.”
The buildings will be alternately lit orange for the Broncos and green for the Seahawks.
On Sunday, when the game begins, both spires will first be lit half-orange and half-green.
During the game, the percentage of the spire lit in each team’s color will be determined by who is winning and by what margin. Both spires will be lit in the winning team’s color after the game.
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AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this report.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org
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