What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1450212
FEBRUARY 13-19, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 39 ON TV PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca REPORTERS Monica Hooper mhooper@nwadg.com April Wallace awallace@nwadg.com (479) 770-3746 DESIGNER Deb Harvell ! UP WHAT'S ON THE COVER In the APT production of "Something Rotten," Cody Robinson plays the rock star of the Renaissance, William Shakespeare, singing "Will Power" to his swooning fans. Set design was by Mary Maxwell. (COURTESY PHOTO/CHAD WIGINGTON FOR APT) What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. One More Big Game PATRICK WHITTLE The Associated Press T hree friends who have attended every Super Bowl are hoping for a memorable contest this year, because it will probably be their final trip to the big game as a group. The three men are all in their 80s and have attended every game since the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was held 55 years ago about 7 miles from this year's venue, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. They are meeting at the game once again this year, but future meetings are in question. Don Crisman, a Maine resident and the eldest of the group at 85, says this is his last game. Gregory Eaton, 82, of Michigan, wants to keep attending but says his health concerns could get in the way. Even Tom Henschel, a football fanatic who spends the cold months in Florida, says Super Bowl LX in 2026 figures to be his last. The far-flung friends use the Super Bowl to meet up, spend time together and reminisce. But in recent years they've come to grips with the fact it must come to an end one day, says Henschel, 80. "I still think I have a few years left. I'm going to try to make it to 60. But old man age is catching up to all of us," he says. Crisman and Henschel first met at the 1983 Super Bowl, and Eaton met them decades later in the mid-2010s. Their small club of fans who have been to every Super Bowl has dwindled over the years as other members have aged and passed on. This year's game has special significance for the fans because they'll be able to sit together again, as is their common practice. They were several rows apart at last year's Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., because of the covid-19 pandemic. Attendance at last year's game was also limited to 22,000. Eaton says the fans are looking forward to a more traditional big crowd at the Super Bowl this year. He'll be cheering for the home team, the Los Angeles Rams, because he feels seeing Rams quarterback Matt Stafford win a Super Bowl is the closest he'll get to seeing his beloved Detroit Lions win the big one. Stafford played for the Lions for more than a decade before finding stardom and success in L.A. "We just love football," Eaton says, adding that he shelled out about $2,500 for his ticket — about 400 times more than the cheap seats cost in 1967. Crisman, a Patriots fan, says he's "moving slower, but I guess that's better than the alternative" as he gets ready for his last Super Bowl. He says he has one caveat about this Super Bowl being his last. "Barring a Mac Jones miracle next year," he says, referencing the Patriots young quarterback. "One year at a time, but I'm feeling we're very near the end." Friends who have attended every Super Bowl plan final trip Members of the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club, Tom Henschel (left), Gregory Eaton and Don Crisman pose for a group photograph during a welcome luncheon in Atlanta in 2019. The three men have attended every game since the first AFL-NFL World Championship held 55 years ago. They're meeting at the Super Bowl once again for this year's game, but future meetings are in question. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP/Hyosub Shin) Gregory Eaton shows his tickets for the 2005 Super Bowl while seated among many other Super Bowl programs and souvenirs in Lansing, Mich. (Lansing State Journal via AP/ Vicki Dozier) FYI Super Bowl LVI The 56th Super Bowl, pitting the Cincinnati Bengals against the Los Angeles Rams, will be played today, Feb. 13, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The NBC broadcast starts at 5 p.m. Central, with kick- off set for 5:30. You can watch the Super Bowl live on NBC, or stream it from Peacock or the NBC Sports App.