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What: “Elway: Champion Forever”
(Polygram video, produced by NFL Films)
Price: $19.95
If you’re a John Elway fan, an NFL Films fan or just a football fan, this video, which is being released today, is for you. It traces Elway through his childhood, his high school days at Granada Hills, his college days at Stanford, his struggles as a Denver Bronco rookie in 1983, his incredible career and then finally to the happiest ending anyone could ask for.
The NFL Films footage, as usual, is outstanding and what really makes the video. But there are also some touching scenes, such as Elway interacting with his children. And there is some excellent black-and-while footage of Elway at Granada Hills High.
This is strictly an upbeat video. If it’s dirt on Elway you’re seeking, it’s not here. If you’re not already an Elway fan, this video could make you one.
Elway talks of how he idolized Roger Staubach; why he didn’t want to play for Frank Kush and Robert Irsay in Indianapolis as a rookie and how he forced a trade to Denver, and how, in his words, he went from a “$5-million man to a nickel man” his rookie season with the Broncos.
At the end of the video, Elway describes the feeling of winning the Super Bowl as “10 times more than I ever thought it would be.” He says of his career, “I wouldn’t change anything, even the three Super Bowl losses. Those losses made finally winning one that more special.”
The timing of this video is perfect, as Elway and the Broncos prepare to defend their title. But, as Green Bay’s Brett Favre points out in the video, Elway didn’t become a great quarterback by beating the Packers in the Super Bowl. “He’s always been a great quarterback,” Favre says.
This video shows that.
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