John Elway, reflects on reaching 50
Still, he does not just enter a room. He engulfs it. Everything stops. Everyone looks. There is an aura of reverence, as if royalty has arrived. He is the Duke of Denver. He is the Comeback Quarterback. He is the Man with the Midas Arm. He is the champion, the Hall of Famer. He is the town's most celebrated celebrity. He is the most iconic sports figure in Colorado history. He is good ol' No. 7.
John Elway seemingly is immortal.
Yet, he turns 50 and the corner on Monday.
"I've got to be totally honest. I was watching TV when John Wooden recently died, and in an interview they had asked him if he was afraid of dying, and he said, 'Absolutely not.' That was the very first time in my life I asked myself, 'Would you
be afraid to die?' I can't answer yes or no, but, reaching 50, I've started to conjure up thoughts of my own mortality."
Now, he introspectively looks back at a remarkable half-century and ahead to an expectant future.
"With luck and hard work, I've achieved a lot in my life so far, but I've still got a lot more I want to do," Elway told The Denver Post in a lengthy conversation at Elway's restaurant in Cherry Creek.
Elway's bucket list includes playing the bad guy in a cowboy movie, driving a stock car on a local track, biking the Ride The Rockies, traveling to Italy again (where he proposed to his wife of 10 months, Paige), playing in a seniors golf tournament, visiting the historic World War II beach site at Normandy, watching his four children graduate from college (the oldest has earned a master's degree, and the other three are attending different universities), doing dozens of new business deals, growing the restaurants he co-owns and . . .
Reuniting with the Broncos.
Elway's association with the team he carried to five Super Bowls, winning two, has been strained the past several years. But he recently bonded with second-year coach Josh McDaniels and rookie quarterback Tim Tebow, and reconnected with owner Pat Bowlen. He has agreed to help the Broncos market this season's game in London and attend training- camp practices.
He hopes to become an untitled adviser to, and part-time coach for, the Broncos, offering "the experience and knowledge I have about football."
Eventually, Elway would like to own a piece of the franchise, which appeared a certainty when he retired after the 1998 season.
"That's always a possibility, but it really depends on what Pat's going to do. Would I like to be a part owner? Yes. I'd like for it to happen here. If not, and there is an opportunity somewhere else, I'd definitely look at that, too."
There has been plenty of life after the Broncos for Elway.
"I've been a gunslinger in business, just like I was in football. I look at a proposition, consider if I think it will be a winner, and I make my investment. I've always been a risk-taker. You make your best educated guess, and it might fail. But there have been highfliers. I don't want to just lend my name to a product or a company. I want to be part of winning or losing."
Elway had a colossal financial flop in an Internet sports-equipment partnership with two other sports stars, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. He was an enormous success with automobile dealerships, which sold for more than $80 million.
"It was a lottery ticket," Elway said.
Elway's two steakhouses are popular and profitable, and he is involvedwith dozens of corporations, endorsements and charities.
"Sometimes you strike out, other times you hit a home run," Elway said, using a baseball analogy. He played two summers in the New York Yankees organization.
He was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft in 1983 — but refused to play for the Baltimore Colts and forced a trade. The Broncos were beneficiaries.
"I came to Denver permanently on May 2, 1983, and this is my home."
He retired from football May 2, 1999.
Elway was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2004. Sports Illustrated has named Elway the greatest athlete to wear No. 7.
An untold story is that in high school in California, Elway wore No. 11, "but, at Stanford, a DB (defensive back) had my favorite number, and I didn't want to ask him for it. All they had were Nos. 12 and 7. I chose 7 because few athletes wore the number."
Now, quarterbacks at every level, including in the NFL, wear No. 7 in honor of Elway.
His jersey was the top seller for the Broncos until there was No. 15 — Tebow, a first-round draft pick this year. They have spent time together — most recently at the birthday party thrown for Elway last week. Tebow was a surprise "gift."
Elway was born June 28, 1960, 11 minutes before sister Jana. His twin, a teacher, died of lung cancer in 2002.
"Jana was 42. The last day of her life she said to me: 'I want to live.' That could have been, and should have been, me instead of her."
What is it like to be John Elway?
"For all the pluses, there are the minuses, and it comes back to the middle. The good and the bad. My father and my sister passing, the divorce (from his first wife, Janet). The three losses in the Super Bowl, then the two victories in the Super Bowl. Health issues. Incredible positive things in my life. Bad decisions.
"If somebody wants an idea of what it's like to be John Elway, every time you go to get gas, be in a drive- through, having dinner out, people are going to come up, get an autograph, ask about the Broncos. And it doesn't matter what kind of mood you're in, or if you're thinking about something in your personal life, you have to become John Elway and turn it on. It's not always easy being John Elway."
But the best part, he says, is being the father of Jessica, Jordan, Jack and Juliana.
Jessica has a master's degree from her father's alma mater, Stanford, gave Elway's introductory speech at the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and now is a kindergarten teacher in Oakland. Jordan is in nursing school at Regis University. Jack is a junior at Arizona State, and gave up playing quarterback after his freshman year. And Juliana is a freshman at Arizona who wants to be a teacher.
In the restaurant, Elway stands before the glass case holding his first orange Broncos jersey and his last blue jersey.
"The blue is my favorite. I never lost one game wearing that home jersey," he said. "Look it up."
Sure enough, after the Broncos switched to blue in 1997, John won every home game in the regular season and the playoffs for his final two years — and the Super Bowl in San Diego.
"I couldn't be happier about my career. I don't know that Joe Montana could have enjoyed his four Super Bowl wins as much as I enjoyed my two because he never lost. The Super Bowl is the ultimate win, but it's also the ultimate loss. The high was higher because I felt the lowest of the low. After we won (the AFC title game in '97) in Pittsburgh, I called my mom and told her we were going back to the Super Bowl. She said: 'Do you really have to?' "
He opens wide and reveals sports' most famous teeth.
"Still all mine," he said. "No caps — even though I hold the NFL record for most times sacked. Look it up."
Sure enough, 516 times.
The blond hair is splattered with gray, and the lines in the face are streams of 50 years. Elway no longer is the 23-year-old kid who flowed into Denver. He's only 10 pounds over his playing weight of 215. His ruined knee has been replaced, and the body is strong.
"I feel great for 50. I just did 100 miles in the Elephant Rock (bike festival), and I ride from my home (in Cherry Hills) downtown and back."
He has that John Wayne saunter that led to the "Duke of Denver" title. "But what I really want to do is be the bad guy in a Western, alongside Kevin Costner."
He doesn't "think much about age, but I just got the notice in the mail that I'm eligible for an AARP card. That reminds you."
Elway acknowledged that he was approached to become a Colorado gubernatorial candidate.
"Politics always intrigued me, and people ask me to run for office. I thought seriously about it because I could give something valuable back to society. But I've been turned off by what's happening in government. I'm a Republican, but I don't necessarily agree with a lot of things they have done, and I don't agree with everything the Democrats do. To me, it's all about getting elected, not what you believe in.
"I've decided, that in politics and charity work, you can get more done behind the scenes than being out front.
"To me, my legacies are my kids and what I did on the field and what I do in my life. That's what my dad taught me.
"I want to die someday as my father did, quickly, sitting on the sofa watching sports on ESPN."
Elway and his family will spend his 50th birthday at his ranch in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Does he understand the meaning of life at 50?
"I always think about the old cowboy Curly in 'City Slickers.'
"He pointed his finger and said: 'Do you know what the secret of life is? One thing. Just one thing.'
"The dude said: 'That's great, but what's the one thing?'
'That's what you gotta figure out.' "
Elway whispered: "Balance."
So, balance is the secret to life? What's that mean?
"I'm trying to figure it out. I'm only 50."
