Monday, December 12, 2011

The South Stander Edition #8

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:


The Broncos-Bears game was looking miserable as the fourth quarter rolled around. Seconds into the final quarter the Broncos were trailing 10-0. Tebow only completed 3 passes til then, Thomas and Decker dropped six catchable balls between the two of them, and a field goal was blocked by the Bears defense. As I sat in the South Stands with my dad and listened to the thousands of Chicago fans cheering in our stadium I felt as if the game was lost.

All photos from the game complements of The Denver Post
But as the fourth quarter began one of the regular Broncos fan sitting in front of us stood up and starting pointing to his watch and telling all the Bears fan's that it was Tebow Time...they had better watch out.

I will admit that I was not believing the Broncos would find a way to win this game, especially after a couple more stalled drives and punts. With three minutes left in the game though this guy was still pointing at his watch. He kept telling us it was Tebow Time and that we all had to believe. The Bears fans heckled him, telling him our clock was 10 seconds slow, referring to the 10-0 score.

2:30 left in the game Tebow was driving the Broncos. I thought back to the Miami game and how we came back from 15-0 in the waning minutes...maybe it could happen again?

Tebow threw a TD pass to Thomas in the corner of the south endzone, 10-7...I thought if we just got the onsides kick we'd have a shot at tying the game. If we didn't get it though, the Bears could practically run out the clock. Onsides kick bounces around and tempts the fans as both teams scramble for it, but the Bears ultimately recovered it. 2:08 remaining. The Bears run one play, then two minute warning. On second down the Bears running back inexplicably runs to the sideline and is pushed out of bounds. Clock stops at 1:55. Third down and the defense makes a big stop, forcing the Bears to punt. Broncos get the ball back with about a minute left and no timeouts.

Our believer in the South Stands is still pointing at his watch, smiling, as he tells all of us in the section that he believes. Bears fans still heckle him...there's no way we can score with no timeouts left against their defense. Tebow drives the Broncos 39 yards and with 8 seconds left the Broncos are 43 yards from their own endzone and call on Matt Prater to make a 59 yard field goal.

Prater boots the ball through the uprights and it could have been good from 70 yards. 59 yard field goal. Game tied 10-10, end of regulation.

At this point I am sure that the entire nation is watching the events that are unfolding in Broncos Country. This has become a regular occurrence for us. The Mile High Magic is back, and has it's clocks set to Tebow Time.

The Bears win the OT coinflip. The Bears drive into field goal range. The Bears' running back breaks through a hole in Denver's defensive line and looks like he clear through to the endzone. The Bears running back then fumbles the ball. Denver recovers. A miracle? Maybe for some...but this type of inexplicable play has become common place for our Broncos. Tebow completes nearly all his passes. The receivers suddenly can barely miss a ball. And Matt Prater drives another field goal half the length of the field (51 yards) to win the game.


Sorry Dallas, but Denver has taken your title of America's Team. Nearly every TV in the nation was tuned into Tebow-Time. Whether you love him or hate him, it's a great story that the sports world has never seen the likes of. Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are now 7-1 since the "Mile High Messiah" took over the team and are on a 6 game winning streak with 6 fourth quarter comebacks, 3 of which involved overtime.

And now Chicago, you know what fans from Miami, Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, New York, and Minnesota recently discovered. The Broncos are for real, and you won't believe it til the final minutes of the game. Denver is now in sole possession of first place in the AFC West, so look out NFL, America's Team is stampeding towards the playoffs.




Beer of the Week:


The Odysseus IPA from Deschutes, is a pub exclusive only found at the Deschutes Tap Rooms in Oregon. It was so good that a few weekends ago when I was there I drank three of them. A very citrusy and delicious IPA. I wish I could get it in Colorado!


Drew Litton Comic of the Week:


The Broncos other new nickname: The Cardiac Kids.




More Broncos New from around the Sports Media:


Rick Reilly, ESPN

"The other day, before the Minnesota game, we were in the tunnel, about to come out," says Broncos punter Britton Colquitt. "And somebody farted. It was bad. And Coach Fox goes, 'Man, I guess somebody's nervous!' It just broke us all up, got us loose. That's what he's like. … I just met him this year and I feel like I've known him 20 years."


Dave Krieger, Denver Post:



Dead in the water, scoreless through three and a half quarters, the Broncos trailed the Bears 10-0.
Or, in the immortal words of former offensive lineman Keith Bishop, they had them right where they wanted them.




Cheerleader of the Week:


Lauren is this week's Cheerleader, just like she was also featured at Sunday's game at Mile High.