Elway tells of ‘Super’ times during LV visit

Victoria Sun

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 | 10:42 a.m.

The first three times quarterback John Elway led the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl, he returned home heavy hearted and empty-handed.

Then, when most of the football world least expected it, Elway helped the cagey Broncos upend the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, 31-24, in Super Bowl XXXII.

"The thing I remember most was real important," Elway said of his first Super Bowl victory during a Las Vegas appearance last week. "(Linebacker) John Mobley knocked down (Brett Favre's) pass on fourth down and we finally realized that we had won a Super Bowl and were world champs.

"It felt like the world was lifted off our shoulders. I can remember where I was standing and running on the field."

It was a defining moment in Elway's career.

Nicknamed the "Comeback Kid" for his ability to win games in the fourth quarter, Elway toiled in the NFL for 15 seasons before earning his first Super Bowl ring.

The following year, the heavily favored Broncos did it again, beating the Atlanta Falcons, 34-19.

"We were a better football team," Elway said. "We kind of dominated that year, having won 13 games in a row.

"We were kind of expecting ourselves to get back. It was still a great win, but it wasn't quite like the first one."

Elway not only won his second Super Bowl title, but was named Super Bowl MVP that year.

It was a year Broncos fans will never forget.

Months after the city celebrated its second consecutive Super Bowl, Elway announced that he was ending his historic 16-year career.

Elway was taken by the Baltimore Colts with the first pick of the 1983 draft but was almost immediately traded to Denver. He guided the Broncos to 148 wins, accounting for more victories than any other quarterback in NFL history.

By rallying his team with 47 game-saving drives in his career, Elway more than lived up to his nickname. The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was named the league's MVP in 1987.

This is the time of year that makes him miss being on the field.

"This is a fun part of the year," Elway said. "You work all year. You work starting in April and in the off-season to get to the point where the teams are right now, and have a chance to get to the Super Bowl and play in these big games.

"So this is the time of year where you kind of miss it."

That is not to say Elway will be camped out in front of a big screen TV come Sunday afternoon.

"I don't sit down and watch it," he said. "I've gone to the game. But I don't make a big point of watching the Super Bowl."