A jersey lays crumpled atop an Armani duffle bag in the champagne mist of a victorious locker room. A one-of-a-kind, gleaming, white jersey. The navy blue number 12 still shines pristine through the sweat and blood stains. That piece of history lays is a trophy belonging to the victor no more; it has been snagged, snatched, taken by a Super Bowl Bandit.
Tom Brady’s record-setting fourth Super Bowl MVP game jersey is now available on the black market. A beautiful piece of art has gone missing. The Texas Rangers have been alerted.
Steals and deals are not something new to sports; there are plenty of moments that seem impossible, even for the most fictitious of novels, even here in Denver.
Here are some of the best heists and steals in Denver sports history.
The Rockies steal the National League Pennant
RockTober! What a time it was in the state of Colorado. Amber and gold leaves fell onto Blake Street while the cheer of Rockies fans roared inside the stadium, truly a unique and treasured sight to behold. In order for this faultless setting to happen the Rockies had to pull off an almost perfect heist. And they did just that, finishing the regular season by stealing 14 of the last 15 games and snatched away a playoff berth by beating the San Diego Padres 9-8 in a play-in game.
The Rockies in the playoffs behind (Ace?) Jeff Francis swept the Phillies and Diamondbacks in order to take hold of the National League Pennant. Prior to the World Series the Rockies won 21 out of 22 games, and nearly every game – from Helton’s home run off Saito to Holliday (absolutely) touching home plate to the power outage vs. the Phils – felt like it was snatched from the back of a Brinks truck.
The Red Sox then promptly stole our hearts, beating the Rockies in four straight. It was a run the likes of which we may never see again. Hopefully they can steal our hearts back in 2017.
The Nuggets Steal One In Seattle
In the 1993-94 NBA season the Denver Nuggets, led by big men Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis and Brian Williams, creeped into the playoffs as the eighth seed with a 42-40 record. No one imagined they could beat George Karl’s mighty Seattle SuperSonics, who with Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton (nicknamed the glove, for his ability to steal a possession of his own) finished with an NBA-best regular season record of 63-19.
It looked as though the SuperSonics would take candy from a baby, winning the first two games of the best-of-five series. But the Nuggets did not go away so easily, winning the next two at high altitude.
The final game headed back to Seattle in what would be a historic matchup for both franchises. Seattle’s defense pressed the Nuggets, who despite being young were able to escape pressure and not turn the ball over. Dan Issel and the Nuggets stayed resolute in feeding their big men and were able to keep the game in control.
In the end (including overtime), it was the Nuggets who had done the impossible and beat the No. 1 seed SuperSonics.
Seattle would later have their thunder stolen, as the team would relocate (and rename) to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Broncos Steal a Hall of Famer
Selected in the sixth round of 1995 NFL Draft, Terrell Davis is now going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Let me repeat that: TD is HOF-bound!
From the University of Georgia at pick 196 overall, Mike Shanahan absolutely stole the best running back in Broncos history from 31 other NFL teams. In that very same draft four running backs were selected in the first round: Tyrone Wheatley (17th), Napoleon Kaufman (18th), James Stewart (19th), and Colorado’s own Rashaan Salaam (#22). None of them would go on to produce even a single Pro Bowl season, let alone a NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, two-time Super Bowl Champion and two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
An APB should be out for Mike Shanahan swiping TD.
One More Down
In 1990 the Colorado Buffaloes might have stolen (a share of) the National Title. “The 5th Down” is now college history and lore, but in 1990 it wasn’t so funny for Bill McCartney’s alma mater, the Missouri Tigers. Colorado, on an artificial field virtually made of painted concrete, beat Mizzou 33-31. This was in large part due to the last drive of the game in which the Buffs were granted an extra down by the referees who made an egregious error. Missouri chancellor Haskell Monroe appealed the loss to the Big 8, but to no avail. The Buffs took advantage of the situation, finishing the season strong by knocking off No. 3 Nebraska to win the Big 8 title. Later, the Buffs beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl (10-9), leading to a shared national title with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Other Mile High Heists
2014: The Denver Nuggets select Nikola Jokic in the second round (41st overall) of the 2014 draft. The rest will be history!
2012: Tim Tebow steals one away from the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime to win in the AFC Wild Card round. Tim Tebow: Forever a legend in Denver and a villain to Steelers Nation.
1995: Colorado steals the only major sports team to ever reside in Quebec. The Nordiques become the Avs and they instantly win Lord Stanley’s cup. (Ouch!)
1993: The Denver Broncos land All-Pro offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman, arguably the best player to ever wear the orange and blue. Minnesota’s loss will forever be Denver’s gain.
1986 & ’87: The Drive and the Fumble. The Browns say they were robbed; I say they were witness to the greatness that was John Elway (and a little bad luck on their part, but they should be used to it).
1977: In the AFC Championship Game between the Broncos and Raiders, Rob Lytle fumbled. According to officials, his motion had been stopped. The Broncos end up beating the Raiders 20-17 and the Orange Crush make it to their first Super Bowl.