Doug Kuepper takes a break from volunteering on the sound crew at Super Bowl XLVIII held in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2014.

If you’ve watched a Super Bowl in the last five years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Doug Kuepper on TV.

He’s tough to notice, though, standing inconspicuously along the sidelines near a cart of speakers or dressed in dark clothing on the field during the halftime show.

But the 57-year-old native of Peru, Indiana, is there, working behind the scenes to help some of the biggest entertainers in the world perform during the largest sporting event in America.

Kuepper has been to every Super Bowl since 2012 as a volunteer with the sound company that puts on the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows, making him one of the longest serving volunteers to work the gig.

That’s put him on the front lines of some of the of the most memorable NFL games in history, and given him a front-row seat to watch megastars such as Madonna, Beyonce, Luke Bryan and Bruno Mars.

And Kuepper will be there again on Sunday, inside NRG Stadium in Houston to help put on his sixth show at the 51st Super Bowl, where Lady Gaga is set to be the main attraction.

It should come as no surprise that Kuepper, who serves as the director of the “City of Firsts” Harley Owners Group in Kokomo, is a die-hard NFL fan.

When the Super Bowl came to Indianapolis in 2012 – the first time it had ever been held in Indiana – he was looking for ways to get tickets to the big game.

He saw a newspaper ad asking for volunteers to work on the sound and stage crews to help put on the live entertainment at the event. That sounded a lot better than dropping more than $2,000 for a ticket to the game.

“I was just like, ‘Yeah, I got to do that,’” Kuepper said. “When I saw that ad and saw I could be part of it, it sounded so cool. I was excited the minute I heard about it.”

The entertainment group held a call-out meeting at an Indianapolis high school to take applications, so Kuepper drove down from Peru to check it out.

As luck would have it, he was chosen to work on the sound crew. His job assignment was easy: push a cart of speakers out onto the field and set them up.

Kuepper said around 60 volunteers made up the sound crew. More than 300 people were tasked with assembling and placing the stage on the field for the halftime show.

The Wednesday before the game, all the volunteers descended on Lucas Oil Stadium for three days of practice. Friday was a full-on dress rehearsal to run through the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows.

When Sunday rolled around, Kuepper and the rest of the sound crew had to be out on the sidelines before the coin toss, and that’s where he got his first up-close-and-personal experience of Super Bowl madness.

As he was pushing his cart of speakers 60 yards along the sideline, out came the New York Giants for the coin flip.

“I actually had to slow down to let the team pass,” Kuepper told the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune. “Then it hits you: ‘Where am I?’”

The day became even more surreal during the national anthem sung by Kelly Clarkson. Kuepper said he ended up standing just a few feet behind the Giants.

Then, two minutes before the game ended, Kuepper was back out on the sidelines gearing up for the post-game show. That’s where he watched as the Giants cinched their victory over the New England Patriots.

“It was so neat to watch the end of the game, with the confetti flying around you and the players and their families running by you,” he said.

The experience was so awe-inspiring that Kuepper determined he was going to try to get on as a volunteer at the next Super Bowl. And then the next. And the next.

His wife, Trish, decided to jump on board, too. She landed a gig on the sound crew with her husband, and ended up volunteering at the games in New Orleans and Arizona. Trish is also working this year in Houston.

“You see a warm-weather pattern in her picks,” Kuepper said with a laugh.

He said looking back, volunteering at the Super Bowl has opened the two up for some memorable experiences.

The two were in New Orleans when the power went out for more than 30 minutes during the third quarter, earning the game the nickname Blackout Bowl.

“My friend texted, ‘What cord did you hit?” Kuepper said with a laugh. “But it was wild. We didn’t’ know what happened. That was the strangest experience, and one that hopefully doesn’t happen again.”

Trish said in Arizona, she was in the bathroom washing her hands during one of the practice sessions when she looked over at the sink beside her and saw Broadway superstar Idina Menzel also washing her hands.

Trish said Menzel, who performed the national anthem that year, made eye contact with her, smiled, and then walked out of the bathroom.

“It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that was Idina Menzel,’” Trish said.

It’s those kinds of encounters Trish takes back to her job as an elementary school music teacher. She said her students are always fascinated by her stories from the Super Bowl.

“The fifth graders are especially curious,” Trish said. “When they find out, they have a lot of questions.”

The two said they are once again looking forward to getting a front-row seat to the Super Bowl in Houston on Sunday. The Kueppers have been there since Tuesday preparing and practicing their parts for the shows.

More than 100 million people are expected to tune in to watch the showdown between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. Kuepper said that’s a lot of pressure to make sure they don’t screw anything up during the halftime show.

But, he said, he’s a pro by now, and he’s just looking forward to being on hand once again for one of the most electric atmospheres in the sporting world.

“I know what I’m doing,” Kuepper said. “The show will be different, but what we do is pretty consistent. Now I can notice more things and feel more comfortable just looking around. I can sit back and enjoy the big picture of what’s going on.”

“Not too many people get to do this,” he said. “You realize that, and it makes it even more special.”

Gerber writes for the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune.