Super Bowl XXXII, pro football’s biggest game of the year, featured the N.F.C.’s (National Football Conference) defending world champion Green Bay Packers against the A.F.C.’s (American Football Conference) representative, the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos, losers of all four of their previous Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV) by wide margins, dating back to 1977, were two touchdown underdogs to the highly favored Packers. And the N.F.C. tried to run their Super Bowl winning streak over the hapless A.F.C. to fourteen games in a row.

Although just a few of the so-called media experts gave Denver much of a chance, the Broncos were heavy sentimental favorites, primarily due to John Elway, their aging superstar quarterback. This was the fourth time that Elway had led the Broncos to the Super Bowl in his fabulous, fifteen-season, storybook career. With a victory over the Packers, Elway could have forever put to rest the notion that some sportswriters had labeled him with—the idea that, despite his doing almost everything else through all of the years, he couldn’t win the “Big One.”

I was pulling for Elway and the Broncos as much as anyone else on the planet. As I stood on the sidelines next to Denver’s Head Coach Mike Shanahan, I daydreamed that I was John Elway throughout the final few minutes of the back-and-forth, evenly matched game. Here was my account of the action:

I played quarterback and wore a predominately dark-blue Broncos’ home jersey, #13, over my full suit of armor. I glanced up at the scoreboard, which read “‘WE’ Packers 24—‘I’ Broncos 24; 4th quarter; 01:50 Time Remaining; 1st Down.”

The Packers were defending their own goal at the 12-yard line. They were already at the line of scrimmage, waiting for us to break our huddle.

As we lined up for the first-down play, I said to myself, “For years, others have said that this is my team and that I’m the warrior who got us this far. How can I finally win the Super Bowl?”

I called my own number on the play and carried the ball for “no gain.” The crowd saw my silver steel helmet sticking out from a pile of white and green-and-gold-trimmed shirts—Green Bay tacklers who had pounced on me almost before I received the snap from the center.

After I crawled out from under the stack of bruised, bloodied bodies and headed back to the huddle, I asked the referee for a “time out.” I had a big frown on my face. I said to myself, “Lord, what will it take for me to win the Super Bowl?”

God appeared during the time out. She was suited up in a Broncos’ uniform, Her favorite #1 boldly printed on both the back and front of the blue-and-orange jersey. While God stood next to me on the sideline, She said, “Wantsalittle, I want to talk with you about ‘teamwork.’ You may be an exceptional athlete, but you’re not the best team player. In team sports, you should not try to go it alone. Getting the job accomplished or winning requires teamwork!”

“Yeah, but I’m used to carrying my teammates on my back. Many football experts keep saying that the Broncos wouldn’t be that competitive if it weren’t for my skills and my ability to make the big play.”

“True teamwork means mutual understanding, mutual respect, and mutual problem solving. Wantsalittle, I’d like for you to try something: Apply the ‘WE’ technique. Form the good habit, as Hall-of-Famer John Elway did throughout his magnificent career, of using powerful ‘WE’ and ‘OUR’ words, instead of ‘I’ and ‘MY’ in your conversations. When people begin to think and act like a team, they will establish esprit de corps—people united, practicing total team concepts in their pursuit of collective team goals.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a whirl.”

“Good! Remember that as you think and act with teamwork in mind, you will more likely accomplish your lofty individual and group goals. Wantsalittle, I’ve got to leave now. I’ll speak with you later.”

“Good-bye, Lord, and thanks! I can’t think of a better time than right now to try out the ‘WE’ approach!”

The scoreboard read “01:45 Time Remaining; 2nd Down.” In our huddle, I asked, “Okay, what can we do as a team to get the pigskin across the goal line?”

Our tight end Shannon Sharpe, who had never come up short for words, said, “Wantsalittle, Terrell Davis has already rushed for two touchdowns in the game, and he has had an exceptional day, especially by running with the ball. Let’s give ‘T.D.’ a shot at taking it in.”

“Does anybody else have a better plan?” I asked. Nobody responded, so I called on #30, our dependable workhorse, to carry the ball.

I took the snap from center and promptly tucked the ball into the hands of Terrell Davis, our All-pro tail back. Davis ran a “sweep” to the left. He zigged and zagged his way down to the Packers’ 3-yard line. I called another time out. That left “01:35” on the clock. The scoreboard also read “3rd Down.”

“Terrell, we’ve got one more long yard to go to get a first down and three yards to go to score the likely winning touchdown. Everybody believes in your ability to get the job done. Let’s have some fun here. We’ll fly home tonight as world champs!”

On the next play, I handed off to Davis. He followed his blockers and darted through a gaping hole on the right side of the line. Davis had just scored what proved to be the winning touchdown. Terrell lifted the ball high over his head in his left hand; he gave the “Mile High Salute” to teammates Rod Smith and Gary Zimmerman with his right hand. All of the other players rallied around me. We all jumped up and down; we were thrilled and joyous in our totally exhilarating anticipated moment of triumph.

As the final minute or so ticked off the clock, Green Bay made a valiant effort to tie the score and send the fiercely contested game into overtime. The Packers’ All-pro quarterback Brett Favre threw three incomplete passes before his final, desperate, fourth-down, pass attempt was successfully defended by the Broncos’ free safety Steve Atwater, who had played a magnificent game, himself. The scoreboard revealed the final tally as “‘WE’ Packers 24—‘WE’ Broncos 31.” As several of the players carried me and our happy coach Mike Shanahan off the field, we noticed a blue “Teamwork Exam Book.” The exam book, lying near the back of the end zone, had a big “A+” boldly written across the front of it. Terrell Davis, who had rushed for 157 yards and scored three touchdowns, was the game’s M.V.P. But everyone had contributed their fair share, individually, to the Broncos’ ultimate victory.

After we sent the whining “cheese-heads” packing for their long flight back to Green Bay, we proudly held up the cherished Lombardi Trophy for practically the whole world to see. Broncos’ fans all across the state of Colorado and throughout the world went crazy. We all celebrated our 37-years-overdo world championship.

Exuberantly, with a sparkle in my eyes, I said, “This one’s not just for me. This victory belongs to all of my hard-working teammates, to the Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen, to the entire Broncos’ organization, and to my close friend and coach Mike Shanahan. Especially, this great victory belongs to all of the loyal and deserving Denver Broncos’ football fans. . . . Teamwork allowed us to bring home this prestigious trophy and earn Super Bowl rings. It’s been a long haul, but it’s also an unforgettable, sweet victory!”

(The moral of this episode: With respect to “teamwork,” adapt powerful “WE” and “OUR” words into your vocabulary. If you think and act with teamwork in mind, you will more likely accomplish individual and collective goals!)

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