Let's Go Bron-Cos! Or not.

Of the many afflictions which plague me, perhaps the one which hurts the most is my inability to watch the Denver Broncos on television. Oh, I can watch them of course; it's just that whenever I do, they suck. I can listen to them on the car radio, or follow them on the Internet, but the moment I turn on the TV, they throw an interception, miss a field goal or give up a touchdown. It's a curse not easily explained, but this year I've dealt with it by finding other activities while their games are being shown. And as a result, they've had their best season since I first started following them six years ago.

Coincidence, you say? Superstition? Don't be naïve.

They've been playing so well this year that I was becoming concerned about what I would do if they made it all the way to the SuperBowl. I knew what my presence in front of the tube would mean and I had to put the team first so it was looking as though I was going to have to sit this one out. But of course, that was getting ahead of things. Before the SuperBowl appearance became an issue, they'd have to get past the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That was something of a technicality in that the Steelers were the number 6 seed and had already played road games for the last 3 weeks while the Broncos rested at home. However, there was one point of concern. I was going to be at the game. That in itself didn't worry me; I've seen them play live before and they won that time (quite handily too) so it was apparent my television curse didn't extend to me being present at the stadium. No problem.

This time though, I wouldn't be in the stands, but on the field as part of the half-time show. Me, and a hundred or so other drummers and pipers from local area bands. Oh and the cadets from the Air Force Academy brass band who came up from Colorado Springs to keep us on track. We met in a High-School parking lot, very early on Sunday morning. The cold was bitter but we had practicing to do.

The coordinator marched up and down with a bullhorn in his hand. Unfortunately, he never put it near his mouth, so it was a challenge hearing what he wanted us to do. An even bigger challenge was for him to choreograph that many people, who've never played together before, few of whom know how to march, each with different levels of musical talent, and who have all learned slightly different variations of the tunes, into a formation that will impress 78,000 people. After we'd marched up and down the parking lot a couple of dozen times, while simultaneously butchering the tunes, his task was beginning to look impossible. My cadet friends told me the military term is 'clusterfuck'. However, before long it was time to load up into a series of school buses and head for the stadium. We were soon ensconced in the hospitality tent with free food, expensive beer and delight of delights, Port-a-Potties outside.

And about a dozen big screen TVs inside.

It didn't take long to realize that this was a bad mix. The Broncos started out impressively enough, turning over possession in the first few minutes. But the Steelers challenged the call and it was overruled. And things went down hill from there. The bad guys put the first points on the board a few minutes later and in short order I found myself looking for a way to escape the televisions. I wasn't at all sorry when the time came for us to leave the tent and march around the side of the stadium to prepare for our grand entrance.

Once I'm inside, I thought, things will be fine. After all, hadn't I watched them pound Houston while up in the nosebleed section last year. The jinx couldn't hurt them while I was inside the stadium. That thought consoled me as we shivered outside for what seemed like an age before they walked us down the tunnel. In here, the crowd sounded strangely muted but once we stepped out into the sunshine, we were deafened by the roar of 78,000 rabid fans. I like to think they were cheering for me so I waved my sticks in the air and high-fived a cute blonde hanging over the wall.

This was my time.

Remember how I said the jinx couldn't hurt the Broncos while I was inside the stadium? Four minutes I saw of that game before mercifully, they broke for half time. Four minutes in which the Steelers scored not one, but two touchdowns; the second of which was a virtual gift from Jake Plummer who threw the ball to them with an accuracy he seldom showed when aiming for his own teammates. I was standing at the 50 yard line, just a couple of feet behind the Pittsburgh bench and it was obvious they were a lot happier about the way the game was going than I was. I recognized the names of a few of their players but was just glad none of them turned and shouted "Hey look everyone, it's the TV jinx guy, thank goodness he's here!"

Finally the players trooped off for their cup of tea and slice of fruitcake or whatever they do at half-time in America, and our show began. And I have to say it was pretty darn good, even if one half of the pipers did begin 'Amazing Grace' a good two beats behind the other half. I myself played with a talent that would have made Mozart start looking for alternative lines of work and screwed up just once when for reasons known only to the Gods, I began drumming a well known tune with my right hand instead of my left. But mistake or not, I still took the time to appreciate the enormity of it all. Here I was in Invesco Field, playing in front of thousands of people, at the biggest sporting event Colorado has seen in years, and the moment was very sweet. All too soon, our eight minutes were up and we trooped off the field to hand things back to the real warriors.

Who repaid our courtesy by continuing to blow chunks for the rest of the game. Even though I didn't so much as look at a television. Which meant Pittsburgh ran out 34-17 winners. This means they'll be going to SuperBowl, while the Broncos watch it on TV.

Just like me.