Broncos 1997 Championship team was awesome. So many unheralded guys around Elway on that team.
QB - John Elway (Psssshhh... Nuff said. The GOAT)
HB - Terrell Davis, Derek Loville (Don't laugh at Loville, the guy was a factor for us)
FB - Howard Griffith (Best all around FB at the time, behind only Larry Centers)
WR - Eddie Mac, Rod Smith, Willie Green (My two favorite wideouts, EVER. Hardest workers on the team at a position usually reserved for primadonnas. They earned everything they got on the football field. Willie Green was a nice distraction, but basically a #4 with Sharpe on the field)
TE - Shannon Sharpe (the IMMORTAL), and Dwayne Carswell to block (he was later converted to O-Lineman he was such a gifted blocker)
T - Gary Zimmerman, Tony Jones
G - Mark Schlereth, David Diaz-Infante/Dan Neil
C - Tom Nalen
*Three HOFers on that O-Line, and Neil was pretty damn solid for a young guy*
DE - Alfred Williams, Neil Smith
DT - Michael Dean Perry, Keith Traylor, Trevot Pryce, Mike Lodish, Maa Tanuvasa
*Remeber when Denver used to have a pass rush?*
OLB - Bill Romonowski, John Mobley (Both guys at the top of their games at the time)
MLB - Allen Aldridge (Awesome, underrated guy. Drafting Al Wilson really softened the blow of losing him after the Super Bowl runs)
CB - Ray Crockett, Darrien Gordon, Darrius Johnson, and Tim McKyer (Unheralded group, but got it done when needed. Especially against Brooks and Freeman in the Super Bowl)
S - Tyrone Braxton, Steve Atwater (There was know way for me to know how lucky I was to watch these two play together)
K/P - Jason Elam, Tom Rouen (Elam was spectacular. Rouen was solid, haven't been able to say the same for any Denver punter since. Yet when other teams come to Mile High their punters can kick the shit out of the ball. Tell me why this is?)
SP - Detron Smith, Glenn Cadrez, Keith Burns (Always made plays, Denver used to never give up big returns. Now it's commonplace)
KR - Darrien Gordon (I think a few people may have forgotten how crucial he was to our success)
The 1997 Super Bowl was awesome. I was in San Diego and got to take part in a lot of the pre-game festivities (although I had to watch the game from a hotel lobby as there was no way my family could afford tickets). I remember the whole drive down to SD (about two hours) hearing the sports radio pundits talking about how Denver had no shot, and whether that had even bother pre-printing T-Shirts, hats, and newspapers so the team could hold them up when they won.
The whole game was awesome. One great QB clearly on his way out, hoping to erase his title-less stigma. The other great QB fresh off a Super Bowl win and clearly on his way to greatness. The action was back and forth and not too lopsided offensively or defensively.
From TD playing basically blind due to his migranes, to Eddie Mac's huge grabs over the middle, Romo playing with his hair on fire and of course the greatest moment of my life as a sports fan.....
It was the greatest moment of my sports life and I was 12 years old. I won't forget actually crying when Pat Bowlen proclaimed "THIS ONE'S FOR JOHN!" to the roar of the Bronco faithful as he handed the trophy to Elway. And I will never forget the look I saw on Elway's face. I think it was the greatest emotion I have ever seen in sports. This was a guy who had given everything to a city and an organization for 14 years. He stuck around through the backstabbing nature of Dan Reeves and the Tommy Maddox situation, and even dealt with the obvious frustration that playing under Wade Phillips would put on any player. This was a guy who loved the Broncos as much as the fans of them did. And even at my young age, I realized how special that was..
