Even though the Cincinnati Bengals aren’t playing in the Super Bowl this weekend, they will still be sending a longtime fan of the team to Las Vegas as a thank you to him for 56 years of fandom.
George Klopp Sr., a 97-year-old World War II veteran, has been a Bengals season-ticket holder since the team started playing in Cincinnati in 1968, going to nearly every home game over that span.
“I just thought about coming back every year, never how long it would be or nothing like that,” Klopp Sr. told Tricia Macke of Fox 19 Cincinnati.
The Bengals have given Klopp and his son George Klopp Jr. tickets to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
“My dad didn’t know, but people are going, ‘Oh my God, are you kidding me?’” Klopp Jr. said about getting the surprise while his father was honored at the Bengals’ final regular-season game. “It’s pretty neat.”
Klopp Sr. said he wishes he could watch the Bengals play in the Super Bowl this year but is confident they will be back.
