Sep 8, 2009 11:08 am US/Mountain
Broncos 50th Anniv.: Remembering Super Bowl XXXII
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The Denver Broncos turn 50 years old in 2009. CBS4, the Broncos official television partner, is celebrating the milestone all season long. The following is one of several reports from CBS4's Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Special.
DENVER (CBS4) - One name is synonymous with the Denver Broncos: John Elway. In the later stages of his NFL career Elway was the most winning quarterback in the NFL except where it mattered most -- the Super Bowl. That all changed, though, after a devastating loss in 1996 that propelled Elway and his teammate to heights no Bronco had reached before.
The 1996 Denver Broncos may well have been the best team in football. Certainly they were the best in the AFC, but a not-so-funny thing happened to them on the way to the Super Bowl. The Jaguars stunned Denver and everyone else by beating them in the playoffs.
The players who experienced that loss still find it hard to fathom.
"It was the most devastating loss that I've ever been a part of," said wide receiver Ed McCaffrey. "Afterwards the team was absolutely depressed."
"I remember sitting on the couch for about three days after that game in a robe," said fellow receiver Rod Smith. "I really didn't move. I slept on the couch, got back up. Sat on the couch. My son came in and said 'Hey Dad, I want to go to the next game.' I started laughing. I said 'Son, it's going to be a while until the next game.'"
In 1997 the Broncos made sure that it wouldn't happen again. A 12–4 regular season led them to the playoffs, and this time the painful lesson had been well learned.
"It was a confidence, but not a cockiness," said McCaffrey. "We realized that even if we felt like we were the best team in the league, we could get beat and get beat at home in the playoffs. We took nothing for granted."
In the playoffs the '97 team avenged the loss to the Jaguars then went to Kansas City and held off the Chiefs. The AFC Championship game was in Pittsburgh. Holding a slim lead in the 4th quarter they faced a crucial third down.
"I remember there was some discussion between Shanahan and John Elway as to what going to happen. Elway (told me) 'Just run 5 yards and stop. Don't get complicated here. I'll throw you the ball and you catch it,'" McCaffrey said.
After the Steelers game Elway was happy but he knew the job wasn't done yet.
"I called my mom and she said 'Oh boy. We've got to go to another Super Bowl and lose?'" Elway said.
But most of the Broncos didn't share Mrs. Elway's concern heading into the Super Bowl matchup with the Packers.
"Sharp said it. He said, 'They have us as 14 point underdogs,'" Smith said. "He said, 'I want to know what you saw all year that made us 14 point underdogs.' Our goal was to beat them by more than 14 points."
"I laugh all the time because I was sitting next to Shannon a bunch of times when reporters were asking him questions and I think he almost bit the tip of his tongue off trying to hold back," McCaffrey said. "We had all the respect in the world for Green Bay, but there was nobody on our team that didn't think we could do it."
The Broncos and Packers battled on even terms for nearly the full 60 minutes in Super Bowl XXXII. Favre and Elway. Two great gunslingers, and neither gave an inch. Then John Elway made a leap no Bronco or Bronco fan will ever forget. His body helicoptered around as he was hit while rushing forward on a quarterback keeper.
"It was really special," McCaffrey said. "Of course I was wide open in the back of the end zone. He could have thrown the ball and it would have been a lot more special. But it was a great moment. To me it was the culmination of a guy that played so long and so hard and was willing to be such a team player."
Super Bowl XXXII would come down to the final 5 minutes with the game dead even.
"I can still remember. I said 'All I want is a chance to win this,'" Elway said. "I can remember running on the field with five minutes to go in the game and it was tied 24–24. And I remember saying, 'God, this is all I've asked you for. I appreciate the opportunity. Let's go see what happens.'"
Terrell Davis scored the touchdown that gave the Broncos the lead and then the defense made sure that they kept it.
But even with just one snap of the ball to go the Broncos took nothing for granted.
"I had one snap left in the game," recounts Elway. "I looked at (center) Tommy Nalen and said, 'Tommy, I've taken 50,000 snaps in my life. Make sure I get this snap.' I didn't think it was over until I put my knee down for the very last time."
Finally the Broncos were champions. When team owner Pat Bowlen lifted the Lombardi Trophy and said "This one's for John," Elway heard the words he'd longed to hear since he'd first put his fingers on the laces of a football.
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