Elway's Audibles Top Off Tribute
Author: Joanne Davidson
Publication: The Denver Post
Date: September 14, 1999

Now that he has quit his day job, maybe John Elway will give  some thought to becoming an air guitarist. Or, a tambourine  player.

Because as good as he looked leading the Denver Broncos to a  pair of Super Bowl wins, the retired quarterback showed 1,450 fans  that a football field isn't the only place where he can really get  down.

Former Eagles Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh closed out their set at  last Saturday night's 'Salute to John Elway' by having the future  Hall of Famer and his

wife Janet join their Mad Dog Band on stage at the National  Western Events Center. They handed John a tambourine and told him  to have at it as they performed the Beatles' 'I Saw Her Standing  There' and two other songs.

And he did. When he wasn't pounding the tambourine on his hip,  Elway matched Walsh and Frey riff for riff on his air guitar.

The Elways' turn with the band provided an upbeat ending to an  emotion-filled evening where team owner Pat Bowlen, current and  former players and a VIP crowd bid a cheers-and-tears farewell to  a true hometown hero.

'I started crying when (a recording of the late John Denver's)  'Rocky Mountain High' played and Sharon came riding in on  Thunder,' Bowlen confessed. He also choked up when he stepped to  the microphone to present Elway as the newest member of the team's  Ring of Fame.

'Secretly, I hoped I wouldn't have to do this,' he said as he  handed Elway the commemorative ring and a replica of the Vince  Lombardi trophy.

Elway also had to fight tears as he acknowledged the honor. 'I  grew up here and so did my children,' he said, clearing his throat  and blinking back tears. 'I could go on, but I'd never make it. So  I'll just say that I will love the Denver Broncos forever.'

The black-tie gala was a benefit for the Elway Foundation and  the Denver Broncos Charities Fund, and was chaired by  philanthropist Sharon Magness and Broncos General Manager John  Beake. Although the net income is still being tallied, we do know  that $ 103,000 was raised in the live auction alone.

The largest bid - Erik Borgen's $ 52,000 - was for a giant  portrait of Elway that artist Denny Dent created between the  gala's main course (Epicurean Catering's signature beef filet and  mashed potatoes) and dessert (a white chocolate 7 decorating a  cake-and-cream confection topped with mandarin oranges).

Magness and Beake had a mere three months to plan this  mega-event, and it's not like either of them had nothing else to  do.

'I woke up this morning and asked why do you do this to  yourself?' Magness confided during a VIP reception before dinner.  The answer, she said, was simple: 'John Elway is Denver, and  emotionally, it would be the biggest thing we've ever done.'

With Joy Burns, Magness is chairing Thursday night's Crimson &  Gold Gala that opens the University of Denver's new Daniel L.  Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness, and, with Lisa Williams,  is coordinating Collectors' Choice 21, a Sept. 24 benefit for the  Denver Art Museum.

Decorations of orange and blue helped transform the cavernous  events center into a Broncos wonderland. Team colors added an  extra sparkle to a stage where the backdrop was a night sky filled  with stars; tables were centered with arrangements of orange roses  and dyed-blue freesia set in helmetlike bowls of blue. A replica  of Elway's locker was set up next to a table where the real Super  Bowl trophy was on display.

Party favors included lucite-encased replicas of the Super  Bowl XXXIII ring and a lapel pin commemorating Elway's retirement.

Special guests included Edgar Kaiser, from whom Bowlen bought  the Broncos in 1982; head coach Mike Shanahan and 10 members of  the Ring of Fame: Rich Jackson, Lionel Taylor, Floyd Little, Frank  Tripuka, Charlie Johnson, Billy Thompson, Craig Morton, Haven  Moses, Randy Gradishar and Louis Wright.

Looking at his new colleagues, Elway laughed and said: 'This  isn't so bad (because) I'm young again. I'm the youngest one in  this group.'

Familiar faces in the crowd included U S West Vice President  Mike Fernandez and his wife, Pat, with House Majority Leader Doug  Dean; former Broncos Keith Bishop, Odell Barry, David Treadwell  and Steve Watson; longtime fan Charlie Goldberg; and Elway's  secretary, Kathy Hatch.

Guests at the Elway family table included his children,  Jessica, Jack, Jordan and Juliana, and his parents, Jack and Jan.  The kids did their part to increase the party's revenue by  engaging in a bidding war on one of two autographed footballs  auctioned that night. Young Jack was the winner, and his $ 12,000  bid caused emcees Ed Greene and Mark Koebrich to wonder aloud,  'What kind of allowance do you get, anyway?'

The other ball went to Sharon Magness for $ 8,000; she also  paid $ 25,000 for a lifesize cardboard cutout of Elway that he was  happy to personalize with an autograph. Wayne Huizenga, who  purchased the Elway automobile dealerships for some $ 90 million,  was unable to attend but sent a $ 5,000 donation.

Winter Park President Gary DeFrange and his wife, Michelle,  told us it was snowing on Berthoud Pass when they drove down  earlier in the evening; they were there with Jack Buckhheister,  president of National Sports Center for the Disabled; Tom Cox,  chairman of the NSCD board, and his wife, Ann; and Winter Park  restaurateur Deno Kutrumbos.

Also on hand to give their hero a proper sendoff: National  Western Stock Show President Pat Grant; Arlene and Barry  Hirschfeld; Trygve and Vicki Myhren; Phyllis Coors and Dr. Peter  Hanson; J.D. Edwards co-founder Bob Newman and his wife, Judi; and  KBNO Radio's Zee Ferrufino and his wife, Jessica.

Also, Charlie and Diane Gallagher with Kit and Jeanne Phillips  and John and Mary Osborn; Mary Rossick Kern; Steve and Cindy  Farber; Jim and Lynne Sullivan; Hyde Park's Steve Rosdal; banker  Jay Davidson and his wife, Kristina; Fern Portnoy; Howard and  Leslie Farkas; Dr. Ron Yaros and his wife, Chris; Dealin' Doug  Moreland and Kempe Children's Foundation execs Carrie Nolan and  Nan Butler.