Game 12. NFL week 5. New England Patriots17-20 (OT) Denver Broncos. Invesco Field at Mile High.

Three days of snow in Denver has made for three cold nights on the bus. Finally I decided we had to get a hotel as the Mullet is just not ready for cold games. On the night before the game I decided it would not be wise to take the Mullet to the game. Firstly we would have to get there at 7am to get a good parking spot, for a 3pm game. I decided to take the shuttle bus that left across the street from my hotel for $7. The busses leave two hours before the game and bring you straight back which turned out perfect.

The people on the bus were older and their passion for their club really got me excited for the game. The Broncos were sitting pretty without a loss all season, and the pundit’s only thought Denver would get three wins all year. Though today’s battle is against the might of the Patriots and their accurate leader is a certain Tom Brady.

I made my way to Lot M where I knew the Mile High Dukesters would be tailgating. Their captain, Derrick, recognised me straight away and gave me a Bud light that was in Broncos colours. Although it was only 12:30 , a full 90 minutes before kickoff, the weather was freezing so after a quick game of “Left, right, Centre” they packed their stuff away.

My next stop was actually off the lot and in a shop called “Sport fan”. This is a huge megastore for all NFL merchandise not just Bronco’s gear. They had a 75% off jersey rail. On that rail was a Cedric Benson Bears jersey and a Jay Cutler Broncos jersey. I ended up buying some much needed gloves, but sadly they were plain and had no NFL team logo on them.

I made my way down the hill, and passed perhaps 300 Patriot fans that came together for a huge tailgate party. They had disco lights, a small stage, loud music and lots of food! I then found my old friend Miles who I met in Denver last season. Miles is on a mission to see the Broncos play at every NFL stadium. By the end of this season he would have seen Denver play at home and away for 100 consecutive games. The Broncos franchise gave him the “Bronco fan of the year” this year. This gives him the entitlement to receive tickets to watch the pre-game warm up for every home and away Broncos game.

Miles was tailgating with his friend Neil, who had a great Broncos bus. Neil always cooks in the stylef of the away team. So today he had plenty of Clam Chowder soup for me, and the hot broth warmed me straight up. It was then time to head in. Someone had spare ticket and was willing to sell it to me for face value at $60, which I was pleased about because it was such a big game.

Outside of the stadium there were a number of classic looking cars from the 60s. As it was the historic 50 year anniversary game between these two clubs, I noticed a lot of people were in the Broncos original colours of gold and brown. Both teams were to play in their original uniforms and even the game day ticket and classic looking programme said the “Boston Patriots”, not the New England Patriots. The Patriot fans behind me told me they do not have much luck in their old jerseys. Not only did the Broncos beat them 50 years ago, but they lost to the Bears in the Super Bowl in 1986. And with their new logo and jerseys they have become a dynasty, winning three Super Bowl titles.

I was wearing my navy and orange (Bears) hat, which blended in with the normal Broncos colours. However inside the stadium the staff was giving out great yellow T-shirts to commemorate the day, which I put on straight away.

I made my way up, way, way up to my seat on the 30 yard line into the section called Thunder, Colorado. This is so called because the top tier of the stadium is where the hardcore loud fans sit. The pre-game show was still going on and the cheerleaders just finished, when they made a display of the original AFC logos. They then introduced ten of the original season ticket holders along with some classic Bronco players, such as John Elway and Terrell Davis. The home fans were pumped, and I was excited to see the meticulous Tom Brady. I was rooting for the Broncos because I never like to see the Pats win, plus I would like to see Kyle Orton do well here as he used to be a Bear.

The Patriots got booed coming out and then the offense of the Broncos team came out, then they introduced the starting Broncos defense individually, which is unusual. I guess it’s because this team has more star players on Defense than offense. Champ Bailey got a huge cheer, but the last person to come out was Bronco new boy Brian Dawkins, the safety who came in from Philadelphia. Dawkins danced his way through a banner and down to his team mates, much like Ray Lewis does at the Ravens.

Not only were the players dressed in their original attire, but the Jumbotrons played through in grainy black and white, the music was all from the 60s, the cheerleaders wore classic 60s outfits and my ticket was gold with the classic Broncos logo on it. The Patriots kicked off moments after huge bomber planes flew over the stadium after the National Anthem. The Broncos got to work quickly, bringing out the wildcat formation. Although they did get into field goal territory with it, they missed it.

The Pats came storming down the field, and each play was well designed. They make it look so easy and before the Bronco’s defense could settle, they were 7-0 down and then 10-0 down after a Moreno fumble. It looked like it was going to be a one sided affair. I wanted to get a 50 year anniversary souvenir cup, but you need to buy a large cold drink for that, and there was no way I going to get a cold drink in the freezing conditions.

The Broncos finally found a way to slow Brady down, and when he did misfire, the whole stadium chanted “In-Com-Plete!” and then a classic “wa-wa-wa” sound came through the speakers. The Broncos got a touchdown from Brandon Marshall in the second quarter and I thought that would be enough to shift momentum their way.

This was just before half time and I left my seat to go to a quiet section (the smoking section) because I had a radio interview on BBC 5 live in the U.K. I was on the phone for a while listening to the commentary from the game I should have been watching. I heard that that the Patriots not only scored, but also Randy Moss of all people caught an interception and then he kicked the ball for the kick off. A bizarre situation that I would have rather seen than hear through my phone. Still the interview went well and I got to catch up on all the scores of the day. I was pretty surprised that the Bengals beat the Ravens. Because of the interview I missed the half time show. I managed to hunt down a large cup of hot chocolate and made my way up the hundred steps to my seat. My neighbour told me that the half time show “was nothing to write home about”, little did they know that I actually write home about the half time shows and today I couldn’t!

The Broncos inched their way in obtaining a field goal in the third quarter and the Pats missed a crucial field goal, that really fired up the home crowd. Orton and Brandon Marshall put together some consistent work and running back Moreno looked good running and coming out of the backfield. After a harsh Pats pass interference and then a taunting penalty, the Broncos got the touchdown and it was a tie game with three minutes left.

The Broncos stopped the Pats quickly, which I was surprised about as I thought the Pats would win it with one long drive. Then the Broncos couldn’t move the ball and gave it back with 2 minutes to go. With Tom Brady at the helm we all feared the worst. Then two huge plays occurred. Firstly the Broncos line got to Brady (finally) and caused a fumble, which the Pats recovered, but they were clearly frazzled by it. The next play the Broncos showed more aggression, and Brady was sacked again, caused a fumble again and this time the Broncos recovered the ball on the half way line.

Moreno only had to make a first down or two for field goal range, but with one minute to go he fumbled and Orton was then sacked, taking this game into overtime. Very few fans left the stadium at this point and it all came down to a flip of a coin. Brady got the call wrong and there was a massive cheer.

Orton came out composed and at the 30 yard line instead of just rushing the ball into the middle, Orton went deep three times. Though in the end all three passes were unsuccessful and it was time to kick the winning field goal. As soon as the ball went through the uprights, the crowd went mad, the opposing fans left the stadium and Josh McDaniels, the rookie head coach of the Broncos, went berserk punching his fists in the air. The Student had beaten his master.

Then something odd happened. Many of the players from both teams came together in the middle, they got to one knee and it looked like there was a big group prayer!

It was an electric atmosphere and the best game I have seen so far on the trip. I took the long walk out of the stadium via the ramp and the home fans were cheering “five and 0” all the way back to their cars, or the rickshaws that then took them back to their cars.