You have to be born a Broncos fan

Aug. 26, 2007

The Razor's Edge/Greg Johnson

There's nothing like growing up in a city rooting for "my" team, living and dying emotionally with the snap of every ball. Of course it's "my” team. Players take the field just for me and can hear my lamentations and directions through the television. It's all part of being a Broncos fan, and you have to be born this way.

I was.

Although I don't recollect the event myself, rumor has it I was born a day early so as not to miss the Oct. 20, 1968, Broncos game. The blue and orange lost that day, 55-24 to the San Diego Chargers, but rebounded to win its next two (over the Dolphins and Patriots) for the newest-born fan.

Thirty-some years later I still bleed blue and orange. I suffered through Super Bowls XII, XXI, XXII and XXIV before our ponies pounded the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII and Falcons the next season in Super Bowl XXXIII.

For a newspaper editor, I can still be a superstitious guy when it comes to sports. In high school, I refused to wash the T-shirt I wore under my pads while we were winning. It was "lucky." And even today, I still wear the same Broncos T-shirt on game day and was convinced we couldn't win our rec league basketball games unless the same fans were in the stands every time. I watched the Broncos win the big show for the first while hosting a party at my home, so that's where I was a year later, recreating the event so not jinx my ponies.

Like any born Broncos fan, I've paid my dues, suffering through what seemed like countless 6-10 seasons, watching every other team earn their records against us. I'll always treasure the memories my Broncos have made for me this season. Like:

€ Fighting back the tears as John Elway became the first Bronco inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I watched nearly every Elway game and still miss seeing the fire, athleticism and desire he brought to the football field each week. That Elway is the only Bronco in the Hall is a travesty for a team that's been to six Super Bowls, winning two.

€ Watching Rick Upchurch (80) run into the record books as one of the greatest punt and kick returners of all time. Sure, he was suspect as a wide receiver, but will always remain one of the best open field runners of all time.

€ Watching Louis Wright (20). Wright wasn't a loudmouth, letting his stellar cornerback play do his talking for him. Ditto for Steve Foley (43). Wright should be in the Hall of Fame.

€ I can still hear that hit Steve Atwater put on Kansas City's Christian Okoye in 1991, which we all still see once or twice a year in compilations of the NFL's biggest hits. Ditto for Karl Mecklenberg's smash of Marcus Allen.

€ Watching Randy Gradishar (53) play the 10 best seasons a linebacker could play - then retiring while still on top of his game. In 1977, the Broncos played the Browns in Cleveland. With Brian Sipe driving the Browns near the Denver goal line, Sipe was hammered as he released the ball. The ball bounced off the back of Tom Jackson (57) and into the arms of Gradishar, who lumbered 92 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. A perennial finalist, it's nearly criminal he hasn't been elected to the Hall yet.

€ Any of Elway's 47 fourth-quarter comebacks. My favorite came on a Monday night against the Chiefs in 1990. In college at the time, my roommate Mike and I were so excited to watch Elway lead Denver to two touchdowns in the final two minutes our neighbors called the police on us. The cops stayed to see the end of the game.

€ Shannon Sharp's &#8220hotline” appeal from the sidelines in Foxborough Stadium asking the president to send the National Guard because Denver was &#8220killing the Patriots.”

€ The M&M Connection. I loved watching Haven Moses catch the ball. That magical 1977 season when a dilapidated Craig Morton (the other No. 7) hooked up with Moses to help lead Denver to its first Super Bowl was made for a sports loving 9-year-old.

I admit, among the first thoughts upon accepting a position here at the Frontiersman wasn't how was I going to coordinate a 3,300-mile move or where was I going to live. It was how was I going to watch &#8220my” Broncos here in Alaska. Thanks to the NFL season package by my television provider, I'm set.

Now I can truly enjoy the Broncos in paradise.