I Was Part of NFL History

NFL History

      I was watching the Denver Broncos-Indianapolis Colts game last Sunday, September 7, when I learned that I was a part of NFL history. It’s true.

      The Broncos took a large lead into the fourth quarter, and the Colts mounted a ferocious rally to just miss winning. Late in the fourth quarter one of the announcers felt duty bound to drag out the history of the Denver Broncos and large fourth quarter leads. He said that in Denver Bronco NFL history the Broncos had never lost when leading in the fourth quarter by 17 or more points. Their record, he said, was something like 147 wins and one tie.

      I did a double take. I was there for the tie. In 1969. That’s right. I looked it up. I was a Houston Oiler fan in 1969, having grown up in Houston and watched them play in Rice stadium in the old AFL before the merger of the two leagues. Then I went to college in Denver in 1968. In 1969, my best friend, a Bronco fan, and his girlfriend(soon to become his wife) paid for the three of us to go sit in the notorious end zone seats and watch the game as a birthday present for me. My birthday is November 16. The game happened to be played on my birthday.

      Well, the game was pretty dull with the Broncos taking a big lead into the fourth quarter. I think the score was 20-3. But then the Oilers(with the help of at least one questionable call) started to catch up. They scored and scored again and tied it up at 20-20.

      Now was my time. I yelled my fool head off in the wrong end zone. People told me to “Shut up, Tex!” and threw cups of soda on me(I hope it was soda.) This was music to the ears of an Oiler fan. The rest of the stadium was pretty quiet. I think I’m lucky it was a tie; an Oiler win and I might have been swinging from the goal posts.

      I checked this out on Wikipedia: November 16, 1969 vs. Houston Oilers in Mile High Stadium. Broncos 20 Houston 20. This was the game mentioned forty-five years later, and I was there -- and now you were there, too.

      By the way, I was best man at my friend’s wedding in Lander, Wyoming, two years later. He didn’t hold a grudge.mm