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| I'm in the building at 5,280 feet |
It took three tries but I finally saw the Jets knock the Broncos off their horse.
Back on 11/8/92, the King and I saw the Jets there for the first time at Old Mile High Stadium. Browning Nagle was the Jets quarterback that day. Needless to say, they lost.
On 1/19/99, they had a 10-0 lead at halftime, then came the endless third quarter when they totally collapsed with a trip to the Super Bowl awaiting the winner. Even on John Elway's worst day as a pro he still found a way to win. He completed only 13 out of 34 passes that day.
Now with the Broncos in their new stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High which opened in 2001, we saw the Chargers play there in 2002 but it was time to see the Jets there.
In Broncos Country on this day, it was Orange Sunday. They told everybody to wear Orange. I was going to see the Orange get crushed.
In the end, I finally got my way much to the chagrin of the natives who were on hand.
Unlike Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez or Ryan Howard, the Jets survived a scare and found a way to win the game in my third visit to Denver to see them play. It made their record 5-1 which is nice but it didn't earn them a trip to the Super Bowl just yet.
As for the game, it was a see saw battle through out. This game had some history to it as Nick Folk of the Jets kicked a team record 56 yard field goal. Matt Prater of the Broncos booted one from 59 yards out. That was the longest field goal I've ever seen in person. The altitude helps when you're a mile high.
With the Jets down 20-17 late in the fourth quarter, Mark Sanchez marched the Jets down the field with possible help from the officials but he was able to scramble and buy time as Santonio Holmes was able to get in position to catch a pass at the 2 yard line. Holmes missed the pass but the yellow flag flew out indicating there was pass interference on the Broncos.
Earlier in the game, the Jets were called for three pass interferences.
With the ball at the Bronco 2 yard line, a familiar foe and former Charger, LaDainlian Tomlinson got the ball and he put the Jets ahead as he scored a touchdown with 1:13 remaining.
The Broncos had the ball near midfield with 43 seconds to go. They called a timeout. The next play their quarterback Kyle Orton couldn't handle a bad snap and the Jets recovered the ball to preserve the 24-20 victory. What a sigh of relief that was.
The monkey was finally lifted off my back.
What a way to end a great weekend.
It should be noted before the game I was able to meet up with a friend of ours, Dick Harding, whose from the Denver area. He came to the game with some friends so he couldn't join me for a post game dinner this time. It was still nice to be able to meet and greet him.
Another great weekend adventure is in the memory bank.
Thank you for reading.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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