I am, quite simply, a Denver Broncos fan because of Tony Boggess. I met him at the beginning of the 1996-1997 school year when he started teaching at Kearns Jr. High in the social studies department with me. His room was right next door to mine and the students would often joke that there should be a door between the walls of our classrooms! Our very first date was to a Rush concert. I figured anyone who liked Rush had to be a decent sort! We went to a lot of concerts together, most memorably to a Sting concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and then at the E Center in Salt Lake City the very next night. Most people thought we were absolutely crazy for doing something like that but we got along so well because we were both spontaneous and adventurous.
Tony was originally from Colorado and he was a rabid Denver Broncos fan. I was a huge hockey fan and he was always trying to convince me that going to a football game was more exciting that a hockey game. I disagreed so he invited me to go to a game with him. My first Denver Broncos game was against the Oakland Raiders on November 22, 1998.
I bought a Broncos fleece jacket for the occasion but Tony literally forced me to buy a jersey before the game. I didn't even know the players that well but I picked Shannon Sharpe!
Right before the game Tony got into this ridiculous Santa suit but he did get on the big screen which was his goal!
I had so much fun at the Oakland game that Tony decided that we had to go to the next home game which was against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 6, 1998. For this game we had to drive all day Saturday and then drive home right after the game on Sunday but it was worth it.
It was really cold at this game. Tony was worried that I wouldn't be warm enough and suggested that I buy a Denver Broncos coat (I eventually would later). I kept telling him that I would be fine because I had my fleece jacket but he kept pestering me. He even suggested that I get a blanket but I told him I was tough and the cold didn't really bother me. I am Canadian after all! You have probably guessed that I was incredibly cold during the whole game! But I couldn't let on that I was cold because I didn't want to admit that Tony was right!
In December that year Tony took me to a Colorado Avalanche game and a Broncos game as a Christmas present. Despite the fact that I was a hockey fanatic, this was actually my very first NHL game. We saw the Avalanche play the Dallas Stars on December 26, 1998 and I was beyond excited (even though Joe Sakic didn't play because he was injured).
Tony thought I was crazy! But I think I turned him into an Avalanche fan because he eventually bought a Peter Forsberg jersey and we went to several more games together. I will always love Tony for taking me to my first NHL game! The next day on December 27, 1998 we saw the Broncos play the Seattle Seahawks. We met some awesome people that let us tailgate with them!
In my opinion, tailgating is as much fun as watching the game!
Then Tony decided that we needed to go to the playoffs. The Broncos had home field advantage in the two possible games so we bought a package from a ticket broker. It was a risk because if the Broncos lost the first game we couldn't get our money back for the second game and both games were ridiculously expensive! But once again I say it was worth it! The first game was a division game on January 9, 1999 against the Miami Dolphins. We met up with our tailgating buddies and had a great time!
In this picture I am wearing a Denver Broncos scrunchie and Denver Broncos earrings. All I can say is that love makes you do crazy things! I am also eating a brat! I don't really like meat very much but, somehow, a brat tasted wonderful in the parking lot of Mile High Stadium! The Broncos ended up slaughtering the Dolphins so the next game was for the AFC Conference title on January 17, 1999 against the New York Jets. It was a Saturday game and we were on a red eye flight from Salt Lake to Denver. The flight wasn't very full so they announced that anyone who had tickets to the game could be upgraded to first class! It was awesome.
The game was amazing. We were sitting in a section filled with Jets fans! There were literally Jets fans all around us! Tony kept chanting, "J-E-T-S. Sucks. Sucks. Sucks." I thought we would be killed. In the end the Broncos were able to pull ahead in the fourth quarter and all the Jets fans around us congratulated us. It was epic and we celebrated for quite a while!
We were scheduled to fly home on Sunday morning but, since it was Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we spontaneously decided to change our flight to Monday night and we partied it up in Denver. One of the best weekends of my life!
Tony and I decided to go to the last game in Mile High Stadium on December 23, 2000 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Tony bought me the Ed McCaffrey jersey for Christmas! It was a great game but it was the scariest drive home in a blizzard on Christmas Eve! Road trips with Tony were always fun!
On November 18, 2001 we went to a game in the new Invesco Field. The Broncos played the Washington Redskins and we had fabulous seats!
Tony and I were both very stubborn and very passionate so we had some epic fights including, rather notoriously, a shouting match on a street in downtown Denver. But we sure did have some great times together, some of the best times of my life. When we broke up we parted very amicably and remained the best of friends. We both eventually ended up teaching at different schools and Tony got married and had two beautiful children. We would run into each other every so often and we could talk for hours!
Last Thursday my dear friend Tony lost his long battle with cancer. This news saddened me deeply. I will always remember the great times we had going to Broncos games and I will always be a Denver Broncos fan!
Note: Tony also took me to my first NBA game between the Jazz (when Stockton and Malone still played) and the Phoenix Suns (when Charles Barkley still played). He also took me to my first MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros. I guess it's Tony's fault that I am such a sports junkie!
