Fry up the ground lamb, while this is frying, mince the onion. When the lamb is browned, add the onion, continue cooking on medium heat until onions are translucent. Add the garlic, saute a few more minutes.

My 14 year old son, Marc, was one of the fortunate young athletes competing in this years Bronco Bowl. What a thrill for these boys! Football is Marc’s life. He, like many of these boys, aspires to play professionally one day.

We arrived in Denver on Friday, staying at the Red Lion just across from the stadium. Marc was dying to get over there and “check it out”. He walked over to the stadium from the hotel and was lucky enough to run into one of the Denver Pirates players who invited him inside. He was bursting with excitement when he returned, telling me about how he stood alone on the field, in the deserted stadium, feeling a
wave of anticipation come over him.

My boy hardly slept all night, he could hardly contain his excitement. It was such a surreal experience for him and his teammates. Playing their first of what they all hope and dream to be many football games in an NFL stadium.

The day went off fantastically. Seeing my son run out of the tunnel as they were announcing his name was an experience I am not sure I can find words to describe. I think I must have been as nervous and excited as he was… if not more so. Our boys played well, they played hard and came away with a win.

The boys were all looking forward to the following morning. The paperwork we received (detailing the course of events for the 2007 Bronco Bowl) stated that the “teams and coaches were invited to a “wrap up” party at ESPN Zone in downtown Denver the morning of Sunday, August 12, from 9-11 a.m.”. Our team had travelled from Colorado Springs for this event and some teams had travelled from as far as Grand Junction to be here. Most parents had made hotel reservations for Saturday night so that the boys could attend the party on Sunday morning to celebrate this amazing experience together. Without warning, we were informed following our game that ESPN Zone had “backed out” and there would be no party the next morning. WOW! What a disappointment for the boys. What an inconvenience for the parents. Not to mention the financial aspect of it all. I am certain that most parents would not have spent the additional money to stay over Saturday night had they known ESPN Zone was going to let the boys down like that.

Many thanks to the Denver Broncos for the incredible memories they’ve given us from this once in a lifetime experience. It is a shame that the last memory we were left with from this astounding day, was dealing with our boys disappointment in ESPN Zone.