Wiedmer: Goodfellows were good luck for Peyton Manning against Pats

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning poses for a photo with teammate Ryan Harris following their AFC championship game victory over New England Patriots on Sunday in Colorado.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning poses for a photo with teammate Ryan Harris following their AFC championship game victory over New England Patriots on Sunday in Colorado.

Scheduled to work the early shift at Knoxville's Provision Center for Proton Therapy last Tuesday morning, Julie Goodfellow had already turned in for the night when her phone rang late Monday.

Her mother, Betsy, was calling from Chattanooga with an offer Julie couldn't refuse.

"I was already in bed," she said. "Mom said she'd just gotten two airline tickets, a hotel room in Denver and two tickets to the AFC championship game between Denver and New England. She wanted to know if I could go. At first I thought she was kidding, but then I realized she was serious."

The two of them have been University of Tennessee fans for years. After graduating from Red Bank High School in 1992, Julie became a UT grad in 1996, just as Peyton Manning was beginning to rewrite Big Orange record books.

"I saw him on campus a few times, but I never met him," Julie said. "I've always been a huge fan, though. We used to talk about going to see him play in Indianapolis when he was with the Colts, but we never did."

But come Sunday afternoon, they were but two of the 77,112 Broncos zealots who filled what the locals refer to as Mile High Stadium II. And just like the rest of the crowd, their constant cheering helped will their heroes to a 20-18 victory over the Patriots that wasn't assured until Denver recovered a desperation onside kick by New England with 11 seconds to play.

"When some of the people sitting around us found out we were from Tennessee, they said we were Peyton's good luck charm," Julie said.

Added Betsy, "Our seats were between the 10-yard-line and the end zone on the club level. The Broncos scored their first touchdown and made their last interception (on the Patriots' failed two-point attempt to tie) in that end zone. I've never had so much fun."

At least partly because of what happened in that end zone, the nation's sports pundits will have a good deal of fun over the next two weeks framing Manning's NFL legacy as he prepares for his fourth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers, who knocked off Arizona 49-15 late Sunday in the NFC title game.

Currently 1-2 in Super Bowls - but now 3-1 against New England QB Tom Brady in AFC title games (take that, Peyton bashers) - Manning can join such illustrious quarterbacks as Bart Starr, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Brady and his own brother Eli as owners of multiple Super Bowl championship rings if he wins.

Not only that, he'd be the first quarterback in NFL history to win Super Bowls as a starter with two different teams. To date, only Craig Morton (Dallas and Denver), Kurt Warner (St. Louis and Arizona) and Manning have started for two different teams, but Warner only won with the Rams and Morton lost with both teams. Jim Plunkett did represent two cities in the Super Bowl (Los Angeles and Oakland), but he played for the Raiders in both cases.

And no matter what happens against the Panthers, the 39-year-old Manning is already the oldest quarterback to take a team to his sport's ultimate game. Beyond that, Manning's four Super Bowls have been reached under four different coaches (Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell in Indy, John Fox and Gary Kubiak in Denver).

"He's going to do what he has to do to win," Kubiak said after watching Manning toss two touchdowns and no interceptions against defensive genius Bill Belichick's Pats. "He's one of the greatest competitors ever in this league."

Said Manning, "It's been a special four years (in Denver). To be going to a second Super Bowl here is very special."

It's probably also pretty special to Manning that he's due a $2 million bonus for winning the AFC title while taking at least 70 percent of the snaps for the Broncos. And he can double that if Denver wins the Super Bowl.

But for Betsy and Julie Goodfellow, it was enough just to be there, especially since Betsy celebrates her 68th birthday today.

"Absolutely the best," she said over the phone Sunday night. "Couldn't have been better."

Even the weather was warmer than in the Scenic City, prompting Betsy to say, "How crazy is that?"

It was all crazy good enough to change Julie's view of the pro football experience, at least in Denver. After saying before the game that the atmosphere around the Mile High City on Saturday was "nothing compared to a college football weekend," she amended that belief following the game, where she recorded the crowd noise as reaching 115 decibels.

"It was louder than any UT game I've ever been to," she said.

As happy as Betsy was to take her daughter, Julie might never have gotten to go if Betsy's husband Doug - a lifelong Patriots hater - hadn't been forced to stay at home following rotator cuff surgery.

Yet however she got there, if she and her mom really are good luck charms, "Peyton owes us a Super Bowl trip," Julie said with a laugh.

Given that the Patriots began the day as slight favorites despite playing away from home, it's hard to argue with her logic.

But thanks to Manning's age and past injuries, and the fact that his young children would surely prefer to see their dad whole and happy as they grow up, something Betsy said before the game will probably also fill the minds of Peyton fans everywhere over the next two weeks.

Said Betsy: "I hope we're about to see his last win at Mile High, and the next-to-last win of his career."

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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