The Fan is turning 30! For three decades, the station has been covering Denver sports, serving as a media outlet of record for the biggest events over the past 30 years.
There have been a lot of them. From championships to MVPs, from historic seasons to improbable victories, The Fan has been there for all of them.
What were the best of the best? During a six week span, Denver Sports will chronicle the moments that stood out the most. It’s a countdown from No. 30 to No. 1, in a series called “Mile High Milestones.”
Enjoy the trip down memory lane!
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Coming off their thrilling victory in Super Bowl XXXII, there were two questions surrounding the Broncos. All of Denver was wondering the same things.
Was the championship a fluke? After all, the Broncos were a two-touchdown underdog to the Packers in the title game and they were a wild-card team en route to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. So there were reasons to wonder if they’d be one-and-done.
What could they do for an encore? Denver had been searching for the ever-elusive Super Bowl title for 37 years; now that they had finally reached the mountaintop, setting off celebrations across the Rocky Mountain region, how could they possibly top what they had done in 1997.
From the very start of the ’98 season, the Broncos provided emphatic answers to both questions. There was nothing fluky about their title run. And they had a lot more to offer their diehard fan base.
Denver opened with back-to-back wins at home, including a 42-23 drubbing of the Cowboys that sent a message to everyone in the league. In that game, Terrell Davis had rushing touchdowns of 63 and 59 yards on consecutive offensive plays, showing just how potent the Broncos rushing attack was that season; their star back was nearly unstoppable, as he rushed for 191 yards and three scores on just 23 carries.
That pattern continued throughout the year. Davis had 100-plus rushing yards in seven of the team’s first eight games, including a season-high 208 in a mid-October victory at Seattle. On the season, TD rushed for 2,008 yards, becoming just the fourth player in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard barrier. He also rushed for a league-leading 21 touchdowns.
It wasn’t just Davis who shined, however. The Broncos got big offensive contributions across the board.
In his final season, John Elway 2,806 yards and 22 touchdowns, while backup quarterback Bubby Brister chipped in 986 yards and 10 scores. Rod Smith led the team in receiving, hauling in 86 passes for 1,222 yards and six touchdowns. Ed McCaffrey grabbed 64 passes for 1,053 yards and 10 scores. And Shannon Sharpe had 64 receptions for 768 yards and 10 TDs.
By season’s end, the Broncos had amassed a league-leading 501 total points. They lit up the scoreboard on a weekly basis, eclipsing the 30-point barrier 10 times.
It added up to a lot of wins. Denver started the season 13-0, clearly establishing themselves as the best team in the league. They also put themselves in a position to make a run at the 1972 Dolphins, the last team to put together an undefeated season in NFL history.
But a 20-16 loss on December 13 at the Giants ended the dream. The Broncos would finish the season 14-2, the best record in the history of the franchise.
In the playoffs, Denver’s domination continued. They avenged a Week 16 loss to the Dolphins by pummeling Miami in the Divisional Round, winning 38-3. The next week, in Elway’s final game at Mile High Stadium, they knocked off the Jets to punch their ticket to another Super Bowl.
That game was a grudge match of sorts. They squared off against the Falcons, who were led by former Broncos head coach Dan Reeves. During his time in Denver, Reeves won a lot of games, but he butted heads with Elway and Mike Shanahan, creating a tension heading into Super Bowl XXXIII that was palpable.
On that night, however, the Broncos got the last laugh. After falling behind 3-0, the Broncos dominated the game, taking a commanding 31-6 lead in the fourth quarter when Elway rushed for a three-yard touchdown. The Falcons scored some garbage-time points, making the final 34-19, but the game was never in doubt.
Elway completed 18-of-29 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the final game of his Hall-of-Fame career. Davis rushed for 102 yards, pushing his postseason total to 468, establishing a single-season record of 2,476 rushing yards that would last until 2024.
By winning back-to-back titles the Broncos answered the big questions. They weren’t a one-and-done champion; they were one of the best teams in NFL history. And they could top winning their first title, following it up with a season for the ages.
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THE COUNTDOWN
30: Ubaldo Jimenez has a magical season
29: Todd Helton get enshrined in Cooperstown
28: Valeri Nichushkin goes missing in the postseason – twice!
27: The Avalanche win their second Stanley Cup
26: The Nuggets come back from two 3-1 deficits in the bubble
25: The seemingly never-ending Broncos ownership saga
24: Hurricane Josh hits the Mile High City
23: The Rockies trade Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals
22: The Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals in 2009
21: John Elway gets enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
20: The Avalanche hoist third Stanley Cup in franchise history
19: The Avalanche acquire Patrick Roy from the Canadiens
18: The Broncos produce the greatest offensive season in NFL history
17: John Elway joins the Broncos front office to right the ship
16: The Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 1996
15: The Broncos nearly decade-long quarterback carousel
14: The Avs-Red Wings rivalry turns into a bloodbath
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Wanna hear more about this Mile High Milestone? Tune into “The Rundown” at noon or check out the show on YouTube to hear Richie Carni and a special guest take a walk down memory lane.