Elway’s Better Half Had the Better Aim at Mile High Game

When John Elway signed a $5-million contract with the Denver Broncos in 1983, his Stanford sweetheart and bride-to-be knew he would be a public figure but had no idea to what extent.

Janet Elway told the Rocky Mountain News that during the early days when her husband was struggling, “I would go into a department store or a grocery store and sign a check, and they would say, well, not good things about John.”

She said the situation became intolerable during the 1985 season just after she gave birth to their first child.

“A guy was sitting behind me at Mile High Stadium, right after I had Jessica, and John had five interceptions against Kansas City,” she said. “After the fourth, the guy was quiet, but after the fifth, he stood up and yelled, ‘You can get your bleeping wife pregnant but you can’t do anything else!’ I turned around and slapped him. It was really embarrassing because the guy didn’t know it was me. He said, ‘Gee, out of all these people I have to be sitting by his wife.’ He apologized and everything.”

Defensive back Mark Haynes of Denver, formerly of the New York Giants, refers to Joe Morris as World B. Morris.

Morris stands only 5-7, but Haynes said, “He’s a great basketball player. Yeah, he can even dunk. I’ve seen him around the rim a few times, but he can’t beat me.”

Add Haynes: He’s had trouble adjusting to the Denver system and explained: “With the Giants you probably don’t have to do too much. They probably have the best front seven in the league.”

Haynes, beaten out by Mike Harden and relegated to nickel defenses, didn’t even play in the AFC title game.

“Now I’m not even the nickel back. I’m the penny back,” he said.

Trivia Time: What school has produced the most starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl? (Answer below.)

The winning quarterbacks in the last six Super Bowls all had first names that started with the letter J. Does that portend a win for Denver with John Elway?

Not necessarily.

Said New York Giants Coach Bill Parcells: “Maybe I’ll start Jeff Rutledge.”

Add Parcells: The day after the Giants won the NFC title, he said he had 97 requests for Super Bowl tickets.

Said safety Herb Welch, formerly of UCLA: “I had a phone call from a former girlfriend’s sister’s friend’s boyfriend. Honest. He said, ‘Listen, I know you don’t have a lot of tickets, but I need four and I could offer you $100 apiece.’ ”

Add Giants: No less than six team members have been enlisted by newspapers to write stories from Pasadena.

They might have trouble getting quotes from teammate Lawrence Taylor.

“I really don’t plan on being badgered by interviews,” said Taylor, “because I’m going to play a lot of golf.”

Travel Note: If you’re visiting Singapore on Super Sunday, you’ll be able to see the game live via satellite at the Pavilion Hotel. Cost is $90, but they throw in breakfast and all the Bloody Marys you can drink.

Trivia Answer: Tied with three each are Alabama (Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler), California (Craig Morton, Joe Kapp, Vince Ferragamo) and Notre Dame (Daryle Lamonica, Joe Montana, Joe Theismann).

Quotebook

Cleveland Browns nose tackle Bob Golic, on what would happen if the NFL’s ban on steroids was enforced: “There would be a lot of offensive linemen playing indoor soccer next year.”