Top 10 Live Games Attended in 2011

1. Bears vs. Broncos

2. Jets vs. Broncos

3. Timbers v. Rapids

4. Diamondbacks vs. Rockies

5. Union vs. Rapids

6. Bengals vs. Broncos

7. Giants vs. Rockies

8. Earthquakes vs. Rapids

9. Columbus vs. Rapids Playoff Game

10. Sabres vs. Avalanche

Note: Only 14 days into 2012 and I bet that the Denver-Pittsburgh playoff game will top my list at the end of this year!

South Stander Edition #8

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:

Midway through the second quarter against Pittsburgh a sign appeared over Mile High Stadium. This wasn't an airplane pulling a banner or a skydiver with a flag.

Fans all over the stadium were point to the sky. The man and woman next to me gasped. I heard others saying it was a sign.

I said to my dad, jokingly, "This proves God is a Bronco's fan," referencing the infamous bumper stickers.

For about a minute, a halo of smoke hung over the stadium.

I believed the Broncos were going to go on to win their first playoff game since 2006. 

But as with any miracle, Denver would not accomplish a great feat with out first facing adversity.

In the second half, Denver would only score one field goal and Pittsburgh would tie the game at 23 after a costly fumble by Willis McGahee that allowed the Steelers to score the equalizing touchdown.

Denver would then have to face a furious Steeler's offense as they tried to get into field goal position in the final seconds. It was a scene Bronco's fans were used to seeing their own team doing. Driving down-field in the waning seconds of the game. But the defense held, and pushed Rothelisburger back to his own side of the field. These Broncos would not be beaten on a hail mary, and on to overtime we went.

It is fitting that this Broncos team, who had won 3 overtime games this season, would play the first game in NFL history under the new overtime rules that allow each team to get a possession unless the first team scores a touchdown on the initial drive. Denver won the coin flip and got the ball.

The man in front of me stood up, and pointed to his watch. Today, overtime, would be known as 'Tebow Time' he announced to our section. Steelers fans threw taunts at him. The little boy in the Steelers hat behind me yelled at him 'Tebow can suck it!"

All day the Steelers had been stacking the box against Denver's run. "There's no way we can run against this defense. They have all 11 guys within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage," a friend texted me earlier in the game. And sure enough to start overtime, Pittsburgh brought nearly all their defenders to the line. And Mike McCoy, Denver's offensive coordinator called the perfect play.

Denver had run on all but one first down play during the game, and Pittsburgh assumed they would do it again. The ball was snapped, all defenders but one ran to the line of scrimmage. Tebow faked the hand off perfectly to McGahee and threw a beautiful ball 20 yards down-field to Thomas who had one man to beat and then a sea of green grass that Broncos love so much in front of him.

Thomas stiff armed the defender, broke free, and ran 80 yards into the endzone.

11 seconds into overtime and Denver had won a playoff game the entire nation had predicted them to lose.

"The crowd has lost their minds" screamed Dave Logan, as the Denver radio announcers laughed in disbelief. 

Mile High shook in celebration, just like the old days. That old Mile High Magic was back, and showed that no matter what, Denver will always be a football town. And just like it should be, there was The Duke of Denver himself, John Elway running onto the field, fist pumping for joy just like when he used to lead these come-back wins.

This was one of the best games of football ever played in Denver.

The Mile High Miracle, led by the Mile High Messiah, Tim Tebow.

Drew Litton Comic of the Week:

Beer of the Week:

For celebrating the Bronco's win, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is my new favorite! It's a fresh hopped beer that is very hoppy and bitter. A pleasant surprise compared to other holiday ales that are usually very malty.

Game Winning Replay of the Week:

Here is the Conan O'Brien version of how Denver beat Pittsburgh.

Here is the real TV Replay.

And here is the 850 KOA Radio Call.

Tebow Video of the Week:

I know it's old, but it fits this week.

Rapids Thoughts of the Week:

Big news coming out of DSG Park this week! Rapid's have hired a new coach, Oscar Pareja, a former MLS Best XI. Pareja has been on the coaching staff with FC Dallas, and the job in Colorado will be his first head coaching position.

“I am honored to join such a great organization like the Colorado Rapids, and want to thank everyone at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for the opportunity.” said Pareja. “This is a dream come true, and I am excited to get started at the Player Combine this weekend and the SuperDraft next week. We already have a great team and everyone is optimistic about what we can achieve this season and beyond," said Pareja at his press conferece.

The Rapids have also announced their schedule for 2012, with the home opener on Saturday March 10th against the Columbus Crew. The Rapids will also play RSL once at home and twice in Salt Lake for the Rocky Mountain Cup. The Portland Timbers will come to Colorado twice, and Montreal, the expansion team, will also visit DSG Park.

Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:

The Avs are on a two game losing skid, but have won seven out of their last ten. They also possess winning records both at home and away. 

The Avalanche have been a very streaky team this season, winning many in a row and losing many in a row. Let's hope that the current 2 game losing streak doesn't last much longer.

The Avs will play the second half of a home-home series against the Predators in Nashville this Thursday. This game will be important for Colorado to keep pace with a team slightly ahead of them in the standings.

Center, Ryan O'Rielly, had the Avalanche's lone goal against Nashville in Denver and is continuing his streak of leading the Avalanche in points.

Nuggets Thoughts of the Week:

After losing their first home game of the season to New Orleans, the Nuggets came back and beat the Nets in Denver 123-115. Denver is proving to have depth on it's roster in this abreviated season, but is still looking to find a good groove. 

The Nuggets will face a big challenge as Miami comes to town this week, and the Nuggets will hope to hand them their second loss of the season.

Cheerleader of the Week:

Maxim posted a great photo-shoot of the Broncos Cheerleaders a few years back and it's worth looking at again.

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.

The South Stander Edition #3

The Colorado Line:
NFL: Broncos 18 - Miami 15 OT
MLS: Santos Laguna 2 - Colorado 0, Vancouver 1 - Colorado 2
NHL: Chicago 2 - Colorado 0, Colorado 5 - Chicago 4 SO


Broncos Thoughts of the Week:

John Fox summed up the Broncos come from behind win quite simply at a Monday press conference. “I liked the last five minutes better than the first fifty-five,” said Fox who captured the feeling of all of Broncos Country and Tebow-Nation well with that statement.

Tebow's successful 2-point conversion to tie the game at 15

As terrible as the first 55 minutes of the Broncos - Dolphins game was, you have to give Tim Tebow and the rest of the Denver Broncos credit for making the final five minutes some of the most entertaining football you will ever see. Mike Klis, from The Denver Post, points out that:

"According to The Elias Sports Bureau no team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 had ever been down as many as 15 points with less than 3 minutes remaining and won."

Not even John Elway, The King of Comebacks himself, ever lead the Broncos out of a 15 point deficit with less than three minutes remaining. Fourth quarter magic has found its way back to The Mile High City, with one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. Now lets just hope that the Tebow led Broncos can start finding that magic in the first three quarters as well, because most of the game against the Dolphins looked awful.


Even though Tebow does deserve his fair share of the credit for this great win, it could not have happened if not for two plays where Tebow was not even on the field. After the Broncos scored their first touch down, Matt Prater set up for an on-sides kick and everyone knew it was coming. The Dolphins oringanlly recovered the ball but couldn't hold onto it and Virgil Green of the Broncos recovered it allowing Tebow and the offense to have a chance to tie the game. Then, in overtime DJ Williams sacked the Dolphin's QB and forced a fumble within field goal range. Williams also recovered the fumble and the Broncos offense took the field. Three running plays later, Prater lined up for a 52 yard field goal to put a cap on an exciting comeback win. Broncos 18 - Dolphins 15.

A Tale of Two Tebows:

Tebow Stats Miami Game	Attempts	Completion %	Completions	Passing Yards
First 11 Drives	14	28.6%	4	40
Final 2 Drives	13	69.2%	9	121
2 OT possessions	0	NA	NA	NA
Total	27	48.1%	13	161
	Interceptions	Sacks	Touchdowns	QB Rating
First 11 Drives	0	5	0	37.80
Final 2 Drives	0	1	2	149.84
2 OT possessions	NA	1	0	NA
Total	0	7	2	91.74

See the full game stats here.

The Bad Tebow: For the first 11 drives Tim Tebow was 4 for 14 in passing with 40 yards and zero points. In these 11 drives Tebow had a dismal QB rating of 37.8. 

Most of the game Tebow looked like a deer in the headlights of the oncoming Miami defense. The Dolphin's constantly rushed five men at him, and Tebow had little time to look down field for his receivers and make good decisions before he was forced to scramble. The Broncos (and the Dolphins for that matter) did not convert a 3rd down the entire first half. Tebow was sacked 6 times in these drives because he holds onto the football too long. Tebow also lost a fumble on one of his runs giving the Dolphins the ball with great field position. Tebow was inaccurate for the first 11 drives, with a 28.6% completion rate. He badly overthrew a wide open Eric Decker that would have been a touchdown had the pass been on target. Tebow did not throw any interceptions but that was not for a lack of chances. The Miami defense was unable to hold onto a couple potential interceptions, including Tebow's first pass of the day which should have been a pick-6 had the linebacker held onto it. Overall, Tebow looked like a young quarterback who is not used to the speed of the game. Experience will help improve this, but he was certainly not proving his critics wrong for the first 55 minutes.

The Good Tebow: In the final two drives of regulation Tebow was 9 of 13 in passing with 121 yards, no interceptions and 2 touchdown passes plus a successful 2 point conversion to tie the game at 15. In the last two drives Tebow had a near-perfect QB rating of 149.9. 

What changed between the first 11 drives and the last 2 drives of regulation? Tebow had nearly the same amount of pass attempts in the last two drives as he had the rest of the game. Tebow just got more chances to find his rhythm throwing the ball in the last two drives. Throughout most of the game Tebow was averaging 1.3 pass attempts per drive. In the last two drives he averaged 7.5 attempts per drive. This rhythm allowed him to be more accurate with most of his passes and able to put the ball in receiver's hands through some tight coverage. John Fox was forced to give Tebow more passing plays because running back Willis McGhee fractured his right hand. In the first 11 drives, McGhee was about the only part of the offense that was moving the ball, and losing him for the last 2 drives forced Tebow to step up. It helped Tebow that Miami started playing a prevent defense and was rushing fewer defenders at him while dropping more back. This gave him more time to find his open receivers and allowed him to not be forced to scramble. The Broncos also started picking up the speed of their game by going no huddle. 

The "John-Fox-Won't-Let-Me-Throw-the-Ball-in-OT" Tebow: John Fox made Tebow play a very conservative game plan the entire game. You could especially tell in overtime when Tebow did not throw a single pass. Fox was trusting the defense and running game to win him the game, and thankfully the defense came through big with a forced fumble and recovery. If Fox is going to give Tebow a proper audition for the rest of the season he is going to have to start trusting Tebow to throw the ball more. He will need to give him a chance to get into a better rhythm, and practice pocket passing in game situations.

After the game Tebow admitted he made a lot of mistakes and has a lot to improve. It's a good quality for a young QB to take the blame and know he has to do better in the long run. But overall, the Broncos found that Tebow magic and managed a very improbable win.

Keys for Tebow Being the Broncos QB in 2012:

1) Pocket Passing

John Elway said Monday morning “I have never seen a quarterback win a world championship outside the pocket.”

Tebow runs for his life from a defender

Tebow needs to quickly become a better pocket passer if he wants to impress Elway and the Broncos organization. He needs to take his time to look downfield for all his receivers before he starts scrambling. Tebow’s instinct is to scramble, but Elway and the Broncos don’t believe that he can be successful with that style of play.

2) Fewer Sacks

Tebow must start taking fewer sacks. Against the Dolphins, who have one of the worst defenses in the league, Tebow was sacked 7 times. If he keeps taking beatings like that Tebow won’tlast long as an NFL QB because he will get hurt quickly. If he’s able to become a better pocket passer he should be able to take fewer sacks because he will be better protected and not be holding  onto the ball as long as he does now.

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Beer of the Week

I had a couple Garfield American Style Amber Ales from Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company while watching game three of the World Series. This beer was fantastic, a deep red color with great malts and a hoppy finish to it. If you find yourself in Glenwood Springs, this s a great beer after a long day.

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Drew Litton Comic of the Week

Drew Litton's take on the Miami game

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Outdoor Thoughts of the Week:

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Rapids Thoughts of the Week:

The Rapid’s are Colorado’s most overlooked professional sports team and they are having by far the greatest season of all of them in 2011. The 2011 Rockies were a heart-breaking disappointment. The 2011 Broncos are in the throes of rebuilding and may not be contenders for years. The 2011 Avalanche have surprised many by starting the season so well but still reek of being the 2^nd worse team in the league from the season before. The 2011 Nuggets may not even play a game and have lost many of their players to China even if the lockout does ends. The Rapids, however, are beginning their defense of the MLS Cup this week with a home playoff game against the Columbus Crew.

The Rapids played two games this last week, both in different countries. They lost in their final group stage CCL tournament game in Mexico, to be dropped out of the tournament. Then they traveled to Vancouver, BC where they proved they can still win in clutch situations and secured a home playoff game.

The Ginga Ninja celebrating his Golden Boot

The Vancouver Whitecaps scored first off of a free kick late in the first half. Colorado’s Jeff Larentowicz, aka “The Ginga Ninja” won the teams golden boot award with his 9^th goal of the year off of a free kick that magically made its way through the entire Vancouver defense to tie the game at one.

"I couldn't really see what happened," Larentowicz said. "I just saw the net move, and I knew it went in. Someone said that it went through (goalkeeper) Joe Cannon's legs. In that situation there's so many bodies in front of him, he sees it late, and that's what I try to do: strike it hard and keep it low."

The game looked like it would end in a draw, but substitute Wells Thompson scored the go-ahead goal in the 84^th minute off of a 25 yard rocket into the back of the net. Vancouver had several valiant attempts to tie the game in the final minutes but Colorado was able to hold off their attacks, including a free kick in the 89^th minute that was headed over the bar.

“It was a bloody hard fought game, and, once again, the lads have shown what resolve they have got,” said head coach Gary Smith.

MLS Playoffs:

The Rapids will take on the Columbus Crew in a matchup of the number two and three wildcard teams on Thursday night at 8pm at DSG Park. The Rapids and Crew split their season series. Columbus won in Ohio 4-1 in a game where Colorado Forward Conor Casey was shown a red card and the ‘Pids had to play most of the game with only ten men. The Rapids beat the Crew 2-0 at DSG Park later in the year with goals from Nyassi and Cummings. Last year the teams met in the Easter Conference Semi-Finals in the MLS Playoffs and the Rapids won that series. The winner of this series will move on to play a home-away series against either LA or Sporting Kansas City

Rapids celebrate Thompson's goal.

Keys to the Match:

1) Resurgence of the Forwards:

The Rapids Forwards have been silent recently, with very few goals. “There’s no doubt the forwards have been going through a bit of a sticky patch and, when that happens, you have to find the goals from somewhere else,” said head coach Gary Smith.

For the Rapids to move on in the playoffs they will have to have Cummings, Nyassi, Folan and Kandji start finding the back of the net and scoring more goals. The last few games the forwards have had some great chances on net, but need to drive harder to make sure they convert their chances into goals. The Rapids have been relying on others to score, with the midfielders and defenders having 9 goals on the season.

2) Keep Possession

In the last game against the Crew at DSG Park the Rapids won 2-0 and had the majority of possession in the game. Columbus has a great defense and keeping the majority of the possession this time around will be key for creating chances on the net.


The Main Pick: Colorado 2-Columbus 1. I'm taking the Rapids in a close game. The defense will step up, one of our forwards will score along with one of our great midfielders/defenders to take the game. The altitude and the weather will have a huge effect on Columbus and contribute to their struggles.

Tailgate: The Class VI Tailgate starts at 6pm on Thursday! It'll be cold and fun! Bundle up to cheer on your Rapids!

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World Series Thoughts of the Week:

Last week I picked the Rangers to win the World Series because I felt the Cardinal’s offense could not keep up with Texas. I’m sticking by my pick that the Rangers will win in 7 games. But the Cardinal’s offense proved it can put up just as many points as the Rangers can in game 3 by winning 16-7. Albert Pujols hit three homeruns to become only the third player to hit three in a World Series game. He joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson, solidifying his place as one of the greatest hitters in the postseason.

The Rangers won Game 5 on Monday night 4-2. Mike Napoli, the Rangers catcher, was the player of the game hitting two RBI’s and throwing out two runners at second on great plays. In the top of the ninth the Ranger’s closer hit Allen Craig to send him to first base and force them to pitch to Albert Pujols with no outs. Pujols struck out swinging and Napoli made a great throw to second to get Craig out. Just like that there were two outs in the inning and the Rangers were onto winning Game 5.

The Rangers currently lead the series 3-2 going into Game 6 on Wednesday in St. Louis. I predict St. Louis will win Game 6 in front of their home crowd, but Texas will battle back in Game 7 to take the Championship.

Former Rockies in the World Series: Two players from the Rockies’ 2007 World Series team are currently in the World Series and one of them will come away with a championship. The Ranger’s backup catcher is Yorvit Torrealba and the Cardinal’s left fielder is Matt Holiday. Neither is having a great series. Torrealba is overshadowed by star catcher Mike Napoli and has only four at-bats, but two hits. Matt Holiday is batting 167 through five games with no RBI’s. If the Cardinals are going to win Holiday is going to have to start producing because with Pujols ahead of him in the batting order, he nearly always has a runner on base. Torrealba is unlikely to see much action except in a pinch hitting role for the rest of the series considering how well Napoli has been playing.

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Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:

Avs celebrating shoot out win in Chicago

The Avalanche continued their improbable start to the season this week by splitting a home-away series against Chicago. The Avs lost to Chicago at home and remain defeated at The Pepsi Center. But the Avs continued their winning ways on the road, beating Chicago 5-4 in shootouts to remain undefeated away from home. The Avs are now 6-2-0 on the season and 6-0-0 on the road.

Gabriel Landeskog, the 2^nd overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft, has been showing Avs fans why he reminds them of another famous Swedish forward, Peter Forsberg. Landeskog has four goals on the season and one assist. He scored two goals in the shootout against Chicago this week, including the game winner. A consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets said of Landeskog “I’ve seen him play twice now live. He reminds me so much of Peter Forsberg in his ability to maneuver in small spaces.”

The Avalanche will return to Denver for a three game homestand after playing in Calgary on Wednesday. Hopefully they will be able to find a way to win a few games in The Pepsi Center.

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TV Thoughts of the Week:

In honor of Halloween I wanted to share with you possibly the best Zombie-Apocalypse show ever broadcast on TV. Starting it's 2nd season on AMC, The Walking Dead, tells the story of the world being over run by a disease that turns its victims into brainless Zombies. The series is gruesome and graphic, but well made with some great character development and great Zombie action. The 2nd season starts with our rag-tag group of survivors fleeing for their lives from the CDC in Atlanta and dealing with packs of roaming Zombies on the highway. As B-movie-esque as this show sounds, I promise that if you enjoy Zombie films and great characters this is the show for you.

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Cheerleader of the Week:

Okay, so she's not a cheerleader...but again, in honor of Halloween coming up I thought I'd share this that I found on Jimmy Traina's Hot Clicks Blog. It's a stop-motion film, like a flip-book, of Melanie Iglasias in different Halloween costumes.

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Public Health and Sports Thoughts of the Week:

Sports fandom acquisition from NPR

Top 10 Most Exciting Games of 2010 (for teams I'm a fan of)

Here's my list of the 10 most exciting games of 2010 for teams that I am a fan of. My teams won all of these games and helped to make 2010 a great year!

1. 1. Texans 23 vs. Broncos 24 -- Tebow's first win.

I had been looking forward to the Broncos vs. Texans game for three weeks, ever since the Broncos failed comeback against the Rams. This was to be the first home game since McDaniel's was fired. It was also Tim Tebow's first home game as the starting quarterback. My dad and I arrived at the game wearing our brand new personalized orange jersey's I had gotten us for Christmas. We were excited to see what the Broncos could do. The announcer introduced the starting offense to chants of "Tebow Tebow!", and then the Broncos were off to the races.

After two screen passes for a bunch of yards, the crowd was psyched about Tebow, but then he threw an interception to the Texans in the North Endzone that silenced the crowd. Two quarters later our Broncos were down 17-0, and the stadium felt like this would just be another blow out in an already miserable season.

But in the second half Mile High got a glance at Tebow's potential. Tebow drove the Broncos downfield and he made some good throws, but Brandon Lloyd made some even better catches that saved Tebow from being picked off again. With Knowsheon Moreno out with an injury (as usual) Correll Buckhalter rushed up the middle for a 6 yard touchdown, making the score 17-7.

The Broncos defense played inspirational football and kept Huston out of the endzone the entire second half, a rarity this year. By the end of the third quarter Huston and Denver had traded a couple field goals making the score 23-10.

The game was still in reach, with the Broncos just needing two touchdowns to take the lead. Memories of Elway's 4th quarter magic came back, and everyone in the stadium held onto a little hope that Tebow could pull it off. Five minutes into the 4th quarter, Buckhalter caught a pass in the slot and ran it 23 yards to drop the Texan's lead to only 6. The Broncos needed just one more touchdown to win, and the crowd was going crazy!

Tebow again drove Denver down the field, and with a little help from a pass interference call on Huston on third and long got a first and goal at the one. Two plays later, Tebow took the snap, faked right and then ran left into the corner of the endzone! It had been a long time since I had heard Mile High rumble like that. Everyone around us in the South Stands was leaping up and down, with high fives all around. Chants of TEBOW TEBOW filled the stadium and suddenly, the Broncos had hope for next season.

After Haushka's extra point, the score was Houston 23, Denver 24.

Houston still had 2 minutes left, and with the way their kicker was hitting 50+ yard field goals, it didn't look good for Denver. I hoped the defense would stop them, but Houston kept driving down field, into field goal range. I hoped Denver would get a turnover, but thought that would never happen with the season we were having. Suddenly, Schaub's pass is deflected, and as if time had stopped I saw the ball slowly falling to into Denver's Syd'quan Thompson's hands. INTERCEPTION! BRONCOS WIN! The South Stands finally felt like they should, loud, proud and happy!

Tebow's first win and his first NFL 4th quarter comeback gave Denver fans something to look forward to next season. Though there's still much work to be done on the coaching staff and improving Tebow's throwing mechanics he has the leadership, passion and the skills to make Denver a proud football city once more. This is why this game tops my list of most exciting games in 2010.

2. Boise St. 33 vs. Virginia Tech 30 -- Boise St. does what they do best

3. Colorado 4 vs. Atlanta 0 --Ulbaldo's and Rockies' first no hitter

4. Atlanta 10 vs. Colorado 12 Rockies biggest comeback ever!

5. Cardinals 9 vs. Colorado 12 Another awesome Rockies comeback!

6. Nuggets 118 vs. Cavs 116 OT Nuggets beat Cavs in OT.

7. Oregon 15 vs. California 13 Oregon's offense disappears, but they still pull out the win.

8. Giants 3 -- Rangers 1 Game 5 World Series brings Giants 1st championship in 50 years.

9. Sharks 0 - Avs 1 OT Goal gives Avs 2-1 series lead

10. Cincinatti 5 Colorado 6 Most exciting play in baseball! Rockies steal home for go ahead run.