Why I'm a Broncos Fan

My wife teases me about my devotion to the Denver Broncos. She can't understand that when you've sat in Mile High Stadium, felt the building shake with the rhythmic stomping of the crowd, watched John Elway lead the team from certain defeat to unbelievable victory, and jumped around and high-fived with your dad, you develop a certain emotional attachment to a sports team. When a boy and his dad and a stadium of 75,000 people share the exultation and suffering of cheering for the Broncos together, a strong, lasting bond is formed.

She also doesn't understand why I cry at some movies. "It's not real," she complains, "why do you care?" Well, it's not that I care overmuch about the characters in a movie or book, but they have the power to evoke potent memories, both positive and painful, that overwhelm my emotional capacity and overflow the body in tears.

She would have been truly befuddled if she witnessed me reading this article from ESPN about a 13-year-old whose visit to a Broncos game helped him heal after the death of his father. What can I say? Sometimes its good to be a fan of the Broncos and John Elway. Pride in my Broncos and memories of cheering for John Elway with my dad welled up in my chest and, yes, a tear or two squeezed out.

As soon as I finished the article, I e-mailed it to my Dad.