The Strange Case of Loving Two Football Teams — Even When They’re in the Same Division

Image
Every old school Denver Bronco fan remembers 'The Drive'. It was the 1986 AFC Championship Game, Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns. The Browns were ahead, the crowd was deafening, and victory seemed theirs for the taking. But then, with 5:32 left on the clock, John Elway and the Broncos took the ball on their own two-yard line and marched 98 yards down the field — cool, steady, and impossible to stop. When Elway threw that touchdown to Mark Jackson, the football world went silent for a second… then erupted. The Broncos had done the unthinkable. Cleveland’s playoff dreams vanished right there on their home turf, and helped Elway earn the moniker “The Comeback Kid.” And that wasn’t the only time Denver ended Cleveland’s hopes. Over the years, it became almost a cruel football tradition. Another season, another heartbreak for the Browns courtesy of the Broncos. The two teams might not be bitter rivals on paper anymore, but their history sure feels like it sometimes. ...
Post a Comment

Hee Haw Valley in Vista California


While converting some of my folks old slides to digital format recently, I stumbled upon these gems.  My brother and I were huge western enthusiasts as kids, so my old man got a kick out of taking us to anything western themed in California.  These were taken, at Hee Haw Valley in Vista California when I was about three years old.





My brother and I excited for our train ride (I'm the one in the cowboy hat)  Dig the cat with the way cool beard!  Are the Amish allowed to drive trains?



Look close and you'll see the cowboy engineer with his hand over his forehead, possibly nursing his headache from the screaming three year old sitting right behind him. Yes.. the darkness and noise was a little bit too much for me to handle at the age of three. Below you can see my loving brother comforting me as we exit the tunnel.



Hee Haw Valley was great.  It was a nice little attraction that featured all kinds of animals you could pet and feed, and they even had a talking crow!  If you want to learn more about this long lost place of fun, or simply reminisce, make sure to visit the Hee Haw Valley web-site.   There you will find wonderful history, memories, and background info that you can't find anywhere else on the internet!



Comments

Post a Comment

What do you think? I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

RIP Hostess Raspberry Filled Powdered Donuts

Image
I wrote an article close to a decade ago, to share my dismay with Hostess for discontinuing their Raspberry Filled Donuts. That article was still getting an unreal amount of traffic and interaction to this very day. In fact, no other article I have written has brought the amount of traffic to 'The Retro Dad' that this one has. It's still a subject that lots of folks are interested in, so I have dusted off the article and updated it for the snack cake loving masses in 2023. Enjoy.. Hostess Raspberry Filled Donuts were originally called 'Hostess O's'. I rememeber when we called them O's, and I believe the name was changed in the late 70s. I don't eat a lot of donuts now, but.. Over the last year and a half, I've developed a much healthier relationship with food. The other day while shopping with my wife, I did something that puzzled her. She couldn't believe I was perusing the snack cake aisle intently. A few years ago she wouldn't have even bl...
Read more

Retro Review - IRISH SPRING vs. ZEST. Battle of the Old School Bar Soaps

Image
I've been on the hunt for new bar soaps to use in the shower lately, and the road traveled has led me to several old school soaps. I decided to give the two oldest soaps that I remember from my childhood, a side by side comparison to see how they hold up against one another. IRISH SPRING $0.97 for two 3.2 ounce bars This soap has had many slogans over the years, but the most famous one very well may be..  leaves you as fresh and clean as a whistle . It may sound a bit corny, but this is the experience I had with Irish Spring. The soap was incredibly efficient at removing dirt and grime, without an excess of suds. Perhaps the the lack of suds equates into the soap not breaking down as fast. The reason I lean towards that reasoning, is because my bar of Irish Spring stood up to daily showering (sometimes twice a day) for 10 days. Dirt seemed to just slide right off of my skin when I used this soap, and I'm impressed with how good it cleans. I used the bar for hand washing as well...
Read more

Whatever Happened to Hostess Raspberry Filled Powdered Donuts? (And a Surprising Comeback Clue!)

Image
This is a long overdue update/revisiting of my post:  RIP Hostess Raspberry Filled Powdered Donuts , one of my highest viewed blog posts of all time. Hostess Raspberry Filled Powdered Donuts were discontinued around 2013 following Hostess's bankruptcy and restructuring.  Despite some nostalgic demand, Hostess has not announced plans to reintroduce them. Fans have expressed their longing for these treats on various platforms, sharing fond memories and lamenting their absence from store shelves.  While no plans for their return seem to be on the horizon, I saw something at the store the other day that stopped me in my tracks for a few seconds.. Glazed Cinnamon Rolls are back, but not from Hostess When I first saw Glazed Cinnamon Rolls on the shelves again in this great retro packaging, I got excited thinking Hostess had brought them back. Then it hit me — Hostess doesn’t even own Wonder anymore. If Wonder still holds the rights to these Cinnamon Rolls, could the...
Read more