A man who's been to every Super Bowl in history says he's still never seen his team play in the big game

• Gregory Eaton is one of three known fans who have been to every Super Bowl.
• He has never hosted a Super Bowl party, but he does own a soul food diner and has thoughts on food.

Gregory Eaton is just one of three surviving members of the "Never Miss A Super Bowl Club," the only fans to attend every big game.

On the eve of Eaton's 57th Super Bowl, Insider caught up with him and talked about how the streak started, how much the game has changed (a lot), how he gets his tickets every year, never seeing his favorite team in the big game, and what he would serve if he ever hosted a Super Bowl party (he knows a thing or two about food).

Nobody is sure how many members of the Never Miss A Super Bowl Club there are. Three of the original "official" members met by chance while standing in line for a Johnny Carson show. That group later encountered a fourth member.

Those four known members gained fame in 2011 when they appeared in a Visa Super Bowl commercial narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Eaton was not part of the commercial and two of the four from the commercial have since died. However, he finally met the other surviving members at the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston, and officially joined the club as the fifth known member and one of only three who still have their streak going.

One of the members, Tom Henschel, had his streak nearly end early on in New Orleans in 1972 when he was hospitalized the morning of the game.

"They wheeled me up to a room, and a Catholic nun came in and asked if there was anything she could get me," Henchel told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in 2018. "'No sister,' I said. 'But I have to get to the game today.' "

"As soon as she walked out, I pulled out the IVs, took off the oxygen and got the hell out of that hospital," Henschel said.

The three remaining members now get together every year for the big game.

Eaton's streak began with some luck

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the championship game between the rival NFL and AFL was not nearly as hyped as it is today. The first game wasn't even a sellout, and the halftime show featured marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling College instead of superstars like Beyonce, Prince, and Rihanna.

Eaton was quick to remind us that it wasn't called the Super Bowl that first year. Instead, it was the "First World Championship Game."

Eaton's streak began with a little bit of luck.

Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan, Eaton's family often hosted Black players at Michigan State University, and he became good friends with several of them. One of those players was defensive back Herb Adderly, who would watch Eaton play football in high school.

Adderly went on to play with the Green Bay Packers, and when the team secured their spot in that first big game, he gave Eaton a ticket. When Adderly and the Packers returned for Super Bowl II, Eaton attended the game with some other Lansing businessmen, and a tradition was born.

The tradition comes at a cost

One of the big changes over the years has been the cost. The average ticket for the first Super Bowl was about $12, which would be about $110 in 2023 dollars.

Now tickets run several thousands of dollars, if you can even find them. It's close to $6,000 on the secondary market for the cheapest tickets.

But Eaton and his other club members are lucky. The NFL offers each member of the "Never Miss A Super Bowl Club" two tickets to every Super Bowl. They pay face value.

While Eaton has never missed a Super Bowl, he has also never seen his favorite team, the Detroit Lions, play in the game. The Lions are one of four active NFL teams to never play in the Super Bowl.

He's still confident he will see them in the Super Bowl someday.

Eaton has recommendations for party food

Eaton has been to every Super Bowl in person, so he might seem like an odd choice to ask for Super Bowl-party food recommendations. But he knows a thing or two about food as the owner of Gregory's Soul Food in Lansing, Michigan.

When Insider caught up with Eaton a few days before his 57th Super Bowl, we had to ask what dishes are must-haves for a Super Bowl party.

"At my house, I would definitely have some fried chicken and chicken wings," Eaton told Insider. "I'd have some collard greens. I'd have some candy yams, and for dessert, I'd have some peach cobbler."

Eaton also said to make sure you have plenty of finger foods.

"I'm making catfish nuggets so you can pick 'em up with your fingers."