Super Bowl

The roads were slick and icy on Mike Shanahan’s drive home from his final practice before the big game. Luckily, he had lived in Colorado all of his life, so harsh weather conditions were no stranger to him. But it had also begun to snow heavily, which made the use of his headlights almost futile. It was like looking through a cone in a pitch black room.

Shanahan was traveling home alongside of the Platte River. There was a car approaching him from the opposite direction. Right before they were about to pass each other, a deer jumped into the other car’s lane. The man swerved and went into a wild spin. Shanahan reacted quickly and avoided the car. Shaken but unharmed, he drove the rest of the way to his house in a daze, only picturing tomorrow morning’s game in his mind. When he reached his house, he climbed into his bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning the players arrived at the field early and began their pregame drills. The coaches discussed strategies and evaluated the Green Bay Packers. The drills were preformed as routinely as tying their shoes. When all of the player’s drills and warm-ups were completed, they filed into the locker room for the usual pregame talk.

Their coach was the only one who spoke.

“This is it men. We made it here. It wasn’t easy and isn’t going to be easy today. But we are prepared. We are ready. Each and every one of you is conditioned both mentally and physically enough to go out and succeed today. You have had great leaders who have blessed you with even greater abilities. But most of all, you have big hearts; which is a characteristic that cannot be taught. You brought yourselves here. You decide how you want to leave here today. Let’s get out there and win this one! We are ready! We will be successful! Go out there and win the Super Bowl!”

They won the coin toss and elected to kick instead of receive. The kick was beautiful, forcing the Packers to take a touchback. Along with home field advantage, this was an optimal way to start the game. On the first drive, the Packers were held to only eight yards, before being to punt. The punt was returned twenty yards, putting the Broncos on the forty-five yard line. The Broncos began pounding through the Packer’s defense gaining yardage left and right. Then a beautiful pass from Elway to Decker secured an early lead in the game of seven points. Things were going as planned and the Broncos were now leading the Packers seventeen to six at halftime. Shanahan spoke once more.

“Good job men. You are playing great. Keep up the hard work and don’t let up until that final buzzer sounds. We are halfway there. Offensive line, keeping sticking your man and remember the snap count. Defense, keep filling your gaps and pressuring the quarterback. And Elway, keep up the good work you are playing great out there. Now let’s go finish this thing with a victory!”

The Broncos received the kick but were forced to take a touchback. On the opening drive, Elway threw a thirty-yard pass to Marshall. The next drive, Lance Ball plowed through the defensive line like an eighteen wheeler for a twenty-yard gain. However, the Packers held them on the next drive and forced them to kick a field goal. The score was now twenty to six. Each team held each other throughout the remainder of the third quarter. Then the Packers scored on a Denver fumble, narrowing the gap to thirteen to twenty. This lit a fire under the Broncos and they charged down the field following Elway’s lead. They scored a touchdown on a pass from Elway to Miller that was thrown like an arrow. This turned out to be the final score of the Super Bowl. The Broncos had won at last.

A call woke Shanahan early the morning before the big game. He was still dazed by being aroused so suddenly. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He asked the voice on the other line to repeat the news twice to be sure that he had heard the voice correctly. The news was as swift as a bullet to the head but as sharp as a knife to the chest. Shanahan hung up the phone and laid in his bed in complete and utter silence. He would have to call the whole entire team and coaching staff. If they elected to play the game regardless of the news, he would have redraw his entire game plan. He had been there when it happened and not even realized what had just happened. Elway had left his cell phone back at the practice facility and was heading back to pick it up, when he lost control on the icy roads. A snowplow spotted Elway’s car halfway submerged on the banks of the Platte River later that night.