NFL access for local news outlets was once much different than it is today, and Denver7 was the beneficiary in a big way.
The show was hosted by Denver7’s Mike Haffner – a Broncos wide receiver from 1968-1970 – and Gary Cruz.“Highlights of the last game looking ahead to the next opponent with Elway interjecting with viewpoints. We will also follow what’s going on around the league and Elway’s community projects.” The first episode was slated to air on Aug. 9 of that year, bumping Entertainment Tonight out of the 6:30 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. slots on the KMGH schedule.
Denver7 won negotiations for the rights to the show, beating out the other local news stations in a months-long bidding war, according to an Associated Press article published by the Loveland Reporter-Herald. “The Channel 7 series will offer an excellent opportunity for Denver-area residents to learn about John Elway as a person,” Steve Petrucci, an attorney who handled Elway’s negotiations at the time, told the AP. “He has an insight to the game and a relaxed, congenial style which will be effective on television.”