It would be an understatement to say that we got to experience an amazing finish.

In fact, a team who is winning by 18 points with six minutes to play has won the last 1,602 straight games. The 33 point fourth quarter is the largest comeback from zero points ever and the second most points ever scored in a quarter in NFL history.

As the Broncos fell deeper and deeper into a hole, I had reserved myself to the likelihood that I had flown across the country to witness a season defining loss. That I would wallow in my sadness with whatever was left of the 70,000 broncos fans who didn’t leave early. And although I never counted them out, it was a huge disappointment from the perspective of any sports fan who has followed a team their whole life and finally got to see them play at home for the first time ever.

In truth, I knew that I hadn’t traveled east just to watch a game but rather celebrate my amazing mother turning 78. I knew that even though the game was going down as one of the most embarrassing beatdowns in Broncos history, I still got to celebrate with my mom and experience a home game in a way that few people ever get to. My mother decided that for her big day she wanted to treat all the people in her life to a once in a lifetime experience; game day in a private box suite on the fifty yard line, complete with all the luxuries and catered food/drink you could imagine. Even with a loss, the day that would turn out to be memorable in more ways than one.

As the game was winding down, a couple ex Broncos players came by to wish my mom happy birthday. Looking at the score and the clock, this would surely be the highlight of the day.

Its a struggle to watch your team barely look competent and be down by three scores all game with no end to the landslide in site. At this point, someone had joked that perhaps Fitz, complete with his Bo Nix jersey, should be subbed in at QB and easily improve the play at the position. I have an image burned in my head of a woman wearing a giants jersey turning and smirking at me as the Broncos were on life support. Her expression suggesting that I have an entire season of Broncos obscurity ahead of me with even worse losses ahead.

That’s when it all flipped. With nothing left to lose, the Broncos began to play with reckless abandon. Abandoning the safe and non flashy plays that had gotten them here in exchange for wild, flashy, generally unadvisable plays. The only chance to win would be if every single play went big and every single play went perfectly for the last six minutes, after having not had a single play go perfectly for the past 54 minutes, mind you. And then it happened, one play at a time. Each play further driving me to lose my voice.

Bo Nix hasn’t hit legendary status yet but if he hopes to some day, it starts with epic signature wins like this. When I was Fitz age, I had Elway to plant the seed and create an unwavering deep love for the team that grew in me even outside of my familial Broncos ties. Perhaps one day we will look back at this game as the start of a whole new generation of die hard fans who are experiencing a whole new wave of mile high magic. I know this will be a core memory for Fitz, who may someday understand the scope of how he got to experience his first game and how historic it was.

In the final second as the ball went right through the uprights, the woman never looked back, not even for a second, I had my smirk ready to role. She heard me though, our box was shaking and loud and rowdy or it was just me, I have no clue as I lost my mind in celebration. I knew we had just witnessed something historic but I hadn’t realized the scope of the comeback until later. What made it all more memorable was the wildly dramatic lows throughout the vast majority of the game. The sudden ridiculous highs after having reserved ourselves to being at the lamest beat down ever is unexplainable. I hope anyone who left early and didn’t get to feel these feels learned a valuable lesson about fandom that day.

That is how you celebrate turning 78 in the most memorable way imaginable. I love my mom and she has dedicated her life to making sure I live a life of experiences and now I’m so lucky that my kids are getting to feel grandmas magic first hand.