ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Football fans’ most anticipated weekend of the year has arrived. The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots at Levi Stadium on Sunday for Super Bowl LX. Among the crowd will be a local, longtime Buffalo Bills fan.

Adolph Dupree has been a fan for decades.

What You Need To Know

Adolph Dupree, a 70-year-old lung cancer patient and longtime Buffalo Bills fan, will be in the stands at Levi Stadium Sunday for the Super Bowl

He, and his Special Olympics coach, were presented with tickets by the Bills at the game against the Philadelphia Eagles through the NFL’s Super Bowl Ticket Program

It allows teams to recognize community partners and deserving individuals

Dupree is supported by Lifetime Assistance

“For a long time. Since the 60s, since the 70s, and since the 80s,” Dupree said.

“Adolph loves football, and maybe love is an understatement for how he feels. He just has so much joy for sports, in general. But football, Adolph, something in him just kind of riles him up and he’s just like the number one fan,” Octoria Martinez, the director of employment and business operations for Lifetime Assistance, said.

Martinez supervises Dupree at his job with Lifetime Assistance. He works on paperwork in the warehouse. However, Dupree holds many titles. He’s a singer, a Special Olympics athlete and coach, and a people person.

“Adolph loves to care about other people,” Martinez said. “He likes to provide support wherever he can. And he likes to be helpful. He just likes to be front and center. Big smile on his face. He’s very welcoming.”

You’d never know the 70-year-old was fighting a secret battle.

“I got lung cancer that I’m fighting, but I go to chemo, I go to appointments,” Dupree said. “I’m fighting it. I’m hanging in there. Doing pretty well.”

“It came to a shock to all of us,” Martinez said. “Cancer for anyone, any family, any friends, it’s a devastating diagnosis to be given. Adolph didn’t let that stop him at all. It didn’t stop him from coming to work. It didn’t stop him from putting a big smile on his face. It didn’t stop him from supporting other people.”

And it didn’t stop his passion for the Buffalo Bills. The team saw his endless love and gifted him a trip to the Super Bowl through the NFL’s Super Bowl ticket program, which allows teams to recognize community partners and deserving individuals. In addition to the tickets, the Buffalo Bills will provide flights and hotel accommodations for Dupree, and his Special Olympics coach, Pat Dadey, along with a gift card to support meals and transportation during the trip. The tickets were given to him at the game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I just cried just a little bit after I saw myself up on the screen,” Dupree recalled. “I was kind of surprised a little bit to get the tickets though because if Buffalo was, if they were in the Super Bowl, it would be something.”

“Just looking at the smile on his face said it all. I mean, that smile was just worth a thousand words. You can’t even kind of put words to how he was feeling, but you could just see it on his face,” Martinez said.

It will not be the game Dupree once hoped for, but he has high hopes for some good football.

“We were robbed and the man made the wide receiver, for Buffalo, made the catch, and he was already down. They made a very bad call,” he shook his head. “I got Seattle. But it’ll be a close game.”

He is just as excited for next season as he is to experience the Super Bowl in-person.

“Always next season. We’ll do our best next season, and see who we play in our brand new stadium, and we’ll see how we do,” Dupree smiled.