June 16, 1996

This is one of the few cartoons ever written long before I used it. It came out a conversation several of us were having in the Rocky newsroom during the Avs first run to the Stanley Cup. My good buddy, Steve Haigh, designer and copy editor extraordinaire, said the magic words “I wonder how Elway must feel about all of this?” Ding, ding, ding. The Lombardi trophy had thus far eluded Elway. This image popped in my mind almost immediately, pretty much as you see it. I was like a little kid going to the candy store, the only problem being we were about 10 days away from it opening. The Avs still needed a few more games to win it all. It was a long 10 days.

I didn’t draw it until the moment arrived doing everything I could to keep my hand steady and the image solid. The color was done in watercolor and Dr. Martins dyes because I hadn’t made the leap to Adobe’s Photoshop yet. It was one of those cartoons that struck a chord with the community, for which I’m very thankful. I love cartoons that resonate like this with people, even 14 years after the fact. Hope ya like it. I’m crossing my fingers that I will be back on a normal schedule come Monday, but if not please keep those cartoon requests coming. It’s fun to hear which ones you remember, which I’m always amazed at. I can’t recall what I drew yesterday.