Tuesday, November 24, 2009

46 years later - the Broncos play a home game on Thanksgiving

This week the Broncos host the New York Giants at Invesco field. While Denver has played on Thanksgiving a few times over the years, this is their first Thanksgiving home game since 1963. The Broncos lost to the Oakland Raiders on that Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 1963) 26-10.

That game is more than just a statistic for me. It was my first Bronco game ever! I was 7 years old at the time. John F Kennedy had been assassinated the Friday before and the nation was in mourning. A friend of my Dad's gave him 3 50 yard line seats in the West Stands, and he took my brother and me to the game.

I don't remember much of the game, other than the Broncos having a running back with an unusual name ("Billy Joe"). A long time Bronco nemesis, Al Davis, was coaching the Raiders that day.

I have attended hundreds of Broncos home games since Thanksgiving Day 1963, but to this day those were the BEST seats I've ever had at a Bronco game. I was too young to appreciate the 50 yard line location!

As for this year's team, I've had fun comparing them to the 1977 Broncos. The last 4 weeks of losses have shown this is not a 77 rerun. Maybe my post before the Cincinnati game will turn out to be more accurate (I said if the Broncos defeated the Bengals they'd start out 4-0 and finish 8-8).

What concerns me about the 09 Broncos in recent weeks is how the defense has been dominated in the 4th quarter, unable to stop the run. This is not a good recipe for success against a power running team like the Giants.

Still I think the Broncos always have a chance of winning at home (forgetting for a minute last week's 32-3 debacle against the Chargers). The Giants have already complained about traveling cross country in a short week, and New York had lost four in a row this season, too, before winning last week against the Falcons.

Here's hoping the Broncos make their all time Thanksgiving home game record 1 win and 1 loss with a victory against the Giants!

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