The Drive Turns 25! John Elway Still Working Magic 25 Years Later

by John Bena on Jan 11, 2012 7:18 AM MST in Denver Broncos in the News

A few days after witnessing one of the greatest plays in Denver Broncos history we get to celebrate the greatest DRIVE in Denver Broncos history. On January 11, 1987, in the AFC Championship Game, John Elway led the Broncos on a 98.5 yard drive to tie the Cleveland Browns late in the 4th quarter.

The Browns were the best defense in football, and old Cleveland Browns stadium was one of the biggest home field advantages in football at the time - known for it's dog bones, batteries and frozen mud painted green.

In a back and forth game that saw the Browns take a 20-13 lead with 5:43 to go, the Broncos were forced to go the loooong way after Ken Bell misplayed the ensuing kickoff and was forced to fall on the ball inside his own 2-yard line. That's where the Elway magic began as he navigated the Broncos down the field, culminating with a 5-yard missle strike to Mark Jackson with :37 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.

The Browns won the toss, but the defense forced a punt. Elway took the field again, drove the Broncos 60-yards, and Rich Karlis nailed a 33-yard field goal to win it. To this day, Browns fans will tell you Karlis missed the kick.

Elway was 22/38 that day for 244 yards, a touchdown and and interception. He ran for 56 more, and even had a 19-yard punt - a play that Elway was famous for whenever the Broncos faced a 4th down inside opponent territory.

As Elway - along with these current day Broncos - restore the Orange and Blue magic many of us grew up with, take time to remember that game - or learn more about it. Many of you are falling in love with the Broncos right now - for us, it was that cold, grey day in Cleveland. Give your memories in the comments, and share when it was YOU fell in love with the Orange and Blue for the first time.

GO BRONCOS!

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The Drive is why I, a Marylander, am a Broncos fan.

First football game I ever saw. I was five and immediately asked my parents for a “horsey shirt”.

by Tezcatlipoca on Jan 11, 2012 7:21 AM MST reply actions 1 recs

Awesome!

Love that!

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by John Bena on Jan 11, 2012 7:25 AM MST up reply actions

I'm not far removed from this.

I was 10 years old when The Drive happened. I grew up where there are no nearby professional sports franchises, so I tended to update my ‘favorite’ team with whomever was on TV a lot at the time. My dad, an avid NFL watcher but really fan-of-no-one-team (though he privately professed some sense of affection for Seattle for some reason) usually had the games on on Sunday and didn’t push or pull me to any one team. The Drive and the Elway mystique (plus the Three Amigos) ended my flip-floppy ways. I was then and forever a fan of this team.

by BroncosBassist on Jan 11, 2012 7:29 AM MST up reply actions

This is why I am a Bronco fan

I’ll echo what everyone else has been saying.

I’d have been 9 and the American Bowl with the Fridge had come to Wembley and I saw this and now I am a Bronco fan. How can you not be after watching this against the odds come back? I owned a “7 Elway” shirt before I owned a Manchester United shirt despite having been going to game there since I was 7.

How many young kids out there will be telling the story of Tim Tebow’s throw to Thomas as the reason why they are Broncos?

by mikebirty on Jan 11, 2012 7:38 AM MST reply actions 2 recs

So

Chicago’s superbowl shuffle didn’t sway you too the Bears?? You made the right choice for sure, lol. Elway, Shanahan, and the Broncos in general brought a lot of fun to football for a long time and capped it off like a fairy tale. The question now becomes, am I lucky enough to see a fairy tale team twice in my lifetime?? How lucky am I?

Go Broncos!
2011 AFC West Champions

by Sean in Pa. on Jan 11, 2012 9:19 AM MST up reply actions

I was 9, and I had just started watching the Broncos with my grandfather and Dad to Bond.

My Dad took me to my first game that year when the Cowboys came to town, and I knew I was a fan at that point. I was so emotionally invested in that game that I missed the first half of the drive because I was so upset that we were going to lose. My dad convinced me to watch as Denver crossed the 50 yard line.

What a game.

Avalanche 2011-12 season, Mission 45 Wins.
Get well soon Juan.

by Thnikkaman on Jan 11, 2012 7:53 AM MST reply actions

long before the drive

For me it was watching the Jim Turner fake field goal . Watching him catch the pass and trot into the end zone in his black hightop shoes to beat John Madden and the Oakland raiders . I was always a fan as a kid watching Floyd Little but also liked other teams as well but after that game I was hooked and became a Bronco fanatic for ever .

by ultraclassic04 on Jan 11, 2012 7:57 AM MST reply actions

Elway

I met john elway when I was a kid I think I was 7, it wasn’t at a football game but I remember my mom taking me to meet him along with some other players and I remember john asking me if I was a football fan, I looked at my mom and she shook her head yeah, so he asked me who my favorite team was, I said I don’t know? He rubbed the top of my head and said I think you should be a broncos fan, and it stuck, the rest is history.

by Broncos813 on Jan 11, 2012 8:00 AM MST via mobile reply actions

Broncos813...I'm so glad it wasn't Marc Wilson that you and your mom went to meet....

"I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany."

by rubincarterrocks on Jan 11, 2012 8:04 AM MST up reply actions

Growing up with Elway

Born in August of Elway’s rookie yr. My dad dropped me from his lap while standing to cheer a touchdown that season and I guess the fall has stuck with me. I don’t remember not being a bronco fan. Watching the SB’s of the 80’s under the stairs of my parents house with my brother but we could never finish a game bc we’d go outside to play it ourselves!

by gtrout on Jan 11, 2012 8:09 AM MST reply actions

It Never Gets Old.

On 1/11/87, I was a Broncos fan for about 10 years. Growing up in NJ, I took a lot of ridicule for my orange and blue allegiance. Since this was the furthest we had gone in the playoffs in 9 years, I was as nervous as I had ever been for a football game. As a result, I stood up the entire game, right there in my living room. I did not sit down until after Karlis’ kick was signaled Good. Two weeks later, the junk I took from Giants fans was unbearable. However, that game was then, and is still a great elixir for what ails me. I still watch that game at least once a year. I even have it loaded on my MP3 player and tablet…just in case.

by MattyP5280 on Jan 11, 2012 8:26 AM MST via mobile reply actions

Let's not talk

about those SB’s :( It makes me sad.

Go Broncos!
2011 AFC West Champions

by Sean in Pa. on Jan 11, 2012 9:25 AM MST up reply actions

Still Amazing...

It’s hard to believe that happened 25 years ago…

It was butt cold in Montana that day, too cold to be outside working so we finished up what we could and went inside to watch the game. My Dad was never much of a football fan until that day, but he slowly caught the fever as the drive went along… My Mom thought we were both a couple of idiots from all the hooting and hollering that was going on in the living room…

I’ll never forget that day as long as I live.

Quite possibly the most interesting man in the world... Stay thirsty my friends!

by tjpmontana on Jan 11, 2012 9:08 AM MST reply actions

This gets a rec and a facebook like!!

I am still waiting for the same feeling of anticipation to take over before games. Of course I was much younger then so maybe it was just youthful excitement. This season has had much the same feel of those days as far as never losing faith in the team. The OT one play TD win against the Steelers will find it’s place along these other great moments and hopefully we can add a shiny new trophy in the case. I know that is just wishful thinking but it is possible!!

Go Broncos!
2011 AFC West Champions

by Sean in Pa. on Jan 11, 2012 9:14 AM MST reply actions

I was at the bar I owned in Fort Collins at the time...

Man was that place off the hook! I’m surprised I can remember it which is probably why I don’t recall the 19 yard punt. Have to look for that when I have the time…

We conquered this territory with our bodies and souls, then we watered it with our tears.
Go Denver!

by SSinSD on Jan 11, 2012 9:15 AM MST reply actions

At 10 years old, I was already a Broncos fan, but Elway’s drive against Houston in the ’92 playoffs is one of my earliest enduring memories about this team. Again at the 2 yard line, the season hanging in the balance, and Elway delivered one of the most impressive drives of his career.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1003326/index.htm

by EddieRoyalwithCheese on Jan 11, 2012 10:41 AM MST reply actions 1 recs

I do remember this

I was four years old but I remember it being on TV, in my personal history, I wrote that I’m not quite sure when I became a Broncos fan but I remember this event definitively. Yes, I have been to C-Town and I was wearing Broncos apparel, Browns fans were generally friendly to me but disapproved of my team of choice. I also remember the drive against the Oilers, that 4th and 10 play to Vance Johnson was epic!

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by the new Bradfather on Jan 11, 2012 11:46 AM MST reply actions

awesome

I was working as a grocery bagger in Albertson’s in Fort Collins when this game was on. They had it on the TV at the video checkout counter, and we were all huddled around it, watching. We were able to because there were ZERO customers in the grocery story during the 4th quarter of that game. :-)

I had never seen that clip of Mark Jackson talking in that first video! Awesome!

by tunesmith on Jan 11, 2012 2:28 PM MST reply actions