Paul Rubs Elbows With the Greatness That is John Elway

People from Pittsburgh, like me, don't generally like football players that don't wear black and gold.

We love our colors so much that our eyes can even fool us into thinking we should root for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Sometimes, we'll glance at the CU Buffs and think, 'Those are almost perfect uniforms.'

Loyalty to the Steelers isn't a tradition. It's ingrained in the Yinzer DNA. So, I don't have many football heroes from my childhood that didn't play for the Steelers.

But there was one. John Elway was always a player that I thought was pretty amazing. As I grew into a man, and I realized it's okay to have respect for people who didn't play at Three Rivers Stadium, my love for Elway grew.

He was the Comeback Kid! However, for a long while there, none of his remarkable comebacks led him to a Super Bowl victory, leaving his career unconsummated, like those of the rest of the quarterback class of '84 (Marino and Kelly the other two Hall of Fame QB's that entered the league that year).

Then, in 1998, he cemented his name by winning the big game. The football and sports world celebrated. That is also the year I moved to Colorado.

My Pittsburgh stubbornness kept me from fully indulging in the celebration of the Super Bowl repeat, but during and just after the 1999 game, I remember sitting in awe as I watched Elway move from potential sports legend to confirmed athletic deity. He is a sports god. He is what America loves the most. And he does it with an understated cool that the Fonz could never touch.

He's still so cool I can't stand it, and arguably the most remarkable Coloradan alive today. The work he is currently doing brought  Peyton Manning and an AFC Championship to the Broncos. Now, he is bringing the BMW Championship, a huge golf event, to his club, Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, in the first week of September.

So when I got to attend an invite only, 9 hole charity golf match with Elway, PGA Pro and 2007 Masters champ and last year's BMW Championship winner Zach Johnson, former Bronco John Lynch and former PGA pro and current Golf Channel star Charlie Rymer, I jumped at the chance. I love golf, but I just wanted to meet John Elway.

I didn't say much to him. I'm not the gushing type. I just walked up, extended my hand and said, "Mr. Elway, thanks for all the excitement." That big, legendary right hand gripped mine and he said, "You got it." Exactly.

I want to extend a big thanks to Co's BMW for inviting me to the tournament. It was a true pleasure to spend some time with a legend like Elway, Zach Johnson, and the others who are keeping Colorado in the limelight by bringing marquis events to our state.