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Adam Lingner and the late Wally Hilgenberg played in more Super Bowls than any of the 10 Quad-City area athletes who have participated in the big game.

Unfortunately, they both lost all four of the ones in which they played. And Lingner is one of the very few players anywhere to have lost four consecutive Super Bowls. However, as dubious as that sounds, the former Rock Island Alleman star is quick to point out that the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s are the only team ever to have reached the Super Bowl four years in a row.

“Even with all that, I’m really happy and pleased to have been a part of those teams,’’ said Lingner, now 55 and living in Minneapolis.

“One of the best things about the Super Bowl is having your family feel like they’re part of it all,’’ Lingner added. “They all get to be there and you have your parents feeling so proud of you.’’

Of course, there is a flip side to that, too. Lingner said he learned years later that his father, who suffered from heart disease, had to take seven nitro pills during Super Bowl XXV, which the Bills ultimately lost 20-19 to the New York Giants.

“He was just so stressed out,’’ Lingner said. “They didn’t tell me that until after my career was over.’’