I had booked the gig at Pateros Creek Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, months before. With it being a Sunday afternoon in mid-January, it figured to be an NFL playoff weekend. As it turned out, the AFC divisional playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Denver is now our hometown team, and it was easy to become Broncos fans, having lived in Indianapolis while Peyton Manning was the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Fort Collins is about an hour north of Denver, so we were in a friendly crowd.
It’s not unusual for me to play while watching games at home. The second half of the 2016 Alamo Bowl game between TCU and Oregon provided great practice for this gig at Pateros Creek.
As this video begins, the game is in the fourth quarter with Denver behind 13-12, and Denver has the ball first and goal on the Pittsburgh 2-yard line. A touchdown and two-point conversion put Denver ahead 20-13. Denver would keep that lead and go on to win the game and a spot in the AFC championship against the New England Patriots.
Good thing I had practiced picking and cheering!