On a typical day, you might find Gregory Eaton at his restaurant, Gregory's Soul Food in Lansing.
"Born and raised in Lansing, Michigan," Eaton said. "Grew up there and my business is there."
Except for one Sunday every February, when he makes sure to attend the Super Bowl.
“I started going to the Super Bowl with a good friend of mine Herb who I met in 1957," Eaton said.
And he's never missed one. Being a part of the Never Missed a Super Bowl Club means even a pandemic couldn't stop him from attending Super Bowl LV with the three other members of the club.
Eaton said attending the game was a little different this year because of the pandemic, but he felt safe the entire time.
“Everyone in that stadium, I didn’t see a person without a mask," he said.
He was lucky enough to be among the almost 23,000 fans who were able to attend the game in person. The NFL gave him a ticket for the second year in a row. But Eaton said it was different sitting next to a piece of cardboard.
“You keep looking to your right and it’s a cardboard box," Eaton said. "I’m an old man, but they had a beautiful young girl sitting next to me and I’d keep talking to her, but she wouldn’t talk back.”
At 81 years old, Eaton has seen a lot of history-making games like Doug Williams leading the Washington Redskins to victory in 1988, becoming the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
“As a little kid coming up I’d never dreamed I’d see a black quarter back win the Super Bowl," he said.
And this one was another history-making game he'll always remember.
“This is only the second time in the Super Bowl history we haven’t had a sell out," Eaton said.
Although he was happy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning, he said he can't wait for the day the team he truly loves makes it to a bowl game.
"Go Lions!" Eaton said.
Eaton says he plans on attending games until Super Bowl 60 and hopes the Detroit Lions will be playing in one of them.
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