John Elway - Comeback Kid

Greg Brown has been involved in sports for thirty years as an athlete and award-winning sportswriter. Brown started his Positively For Kids series after being unable to find sports books for his own children that taught life lessons. He is the co-author of Dan Marino : First and Goal ; Kerri Strug : Heart of Gold ; Mo Vaughn : Follow Your Dreams; Steve Young: Forever Young; Bonnie Blair: A Winning Edge; Cal Ripken Jr.: Count Me In; Troy Aikman: Things Change; Kirby Puckett: Be the Best You Can Be; and Edgar Martinez: Patience Pays. Brown regularly speaks at schools and can be reached at greg@PositivelyForKids.com. He lives in Bothell, Washington, with his wife, Stacy, and two children, Lauren and Benji.

Doug Keith provided the illustrations for the best-selling childrens books Things Change with Troy Aikman, Heart of Gold with Kerri Strug, Count Me In with Cal Ripken Jr, Forever Young with Steve Young, and Reach Higher with Scottie Pippen. His illustrations have appeared in national magazines such as Sports Illustrated for Kids, greeting cards, and books. Keith can be reached at his internet address: atozdk@aol.com.

Winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate dream of all professional football players.

Three times I have played in Super Bowls with the Broncos and three times our team lost, all by lopsided margins, for a combined 136-40 score.

I understand in professional sports winning is everything. That comes with the paycheck. Until someone pays you to play, however, sports should not be only about winning.

After one of those crushing Super Bowl losses, a billboard in Denver, addressing our team, read: How does it feel to embarrass a city?

For me, when you give your all, losing is not embarrassing. There can be honor in defeat.

I think shame comes from failing to try, from giving up on yourself or those around you, from losing all hope.

If you ask whats been my secret of success, most might say its my God-given athletic ability to throw a football. While talent is important, its not necessarily the most important thing. Thousands of talented people fail every day.

My strength has been my will to winthat competitive fire inside.

I never give up.

Going into the 1997 season, Ive led 41 fourth-quarter comebacks, more than any other NFL quarterback before me. People call me the Comeback Kid for all those thrilling last-minute victories.

My hope is that after you read my story you will always remember that success in any field is just a comeback away.

My story begins in the state of Washington. Thats where my parents grew up, met, and married. My dad, Jack, was an outstanding high school and college quarterback. His father also played quarterback. My mom, Jan, played high school basketball and volleyball.

By the time I was born, on June 28, 1960, in Port Angeles, Washington, Dad had begun his career as a football coach, starting at the high school level. He later advanced to college coaching and eventually to the professional ranks, including joining the Broncos as a pro scout in 1993.

While Dad climbed the coaching ladder, we moved four times as I was growing up.

Johns father, Jack, played quarterback at Washington State University before injuries cut short his career.

I have two sisters. Lee Ann was the first born. Eighteen months later my twin, Jana, and I were born. I beat Jana into the world by 11 minutes, and weve been competing with each other ever since.

Thats Jana and me pictured above at six months old. Can you tell which one is me?

Like everyone else, I crawled before I could walk. I did seem to enjoy our mini hot tub after a hard day on the carpet.

Identical vs. Fraternal

As you can see, Jana and I do not look the same. We are fraternal twins because we developed from two different eggs. Identical twins start as a single egg, which then divides. In America, about one in 87 births are twins. By the way, Im the baby on the right.

During those early years I loved being around my sisters.

This is the first house I rememberin Aberdeen, Washington. My sisters and I had great fun together. Id do anything to play with them. I remember joining in on their tea parties. Hey, when youre the only guy you do what it takes to be included.

I didnt play with dolls, though. Not even G.I. Joes. Getting a toy truck one Christmas broke my heart. Anything that had a ball is what interested me.

The Elways in the early 1960s.

Can you guess our familys favorite color?

Check out my snowball, ready tor launch.

A bowling ball became an early favorite. Wed make a bowling alley in our hallway with plastic pins and balls.

I quickly learned a heavier ball knocked down more pinsand put more dents in the walls.

Soon, I graduated from rolling to throwing. Sports balls, dirt clods, rocks, snowballsyou name it, I threw them.