On and off the field, Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey were legends in Denver
Jul 21, 2020, 6:51 AM
In honor of the Colorado legends we talked to on the air last week, I thought I’d share a few stories about a few of those legends, Broncos wide receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey.
When I arrived in Denver in August of 2003, traded for a conditional seventh-round pick in the middle of training camp, the Broncos had two veteran wide receivers who were integral parts of the team’s two Super Bowl victories – Rod and Eddie. I had just come from San Francisco, where the two top dog receivers were Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes. Super-talented fellas themselves, but here in Denver, there was a different vibe. The Broncos were a team, and if you wanted to be a part of it, you had to fall in.
What did that mean? Doing everything you could every day of the week to make yourself and your teammates better. Scout team. Special teams. Blocking down field. Finishing every catch through the opposite end zone. Every play, every day. A receiver doesn’t just run routes and catch balls. A receiver is a football player and he has to act one. This example was set every day on the practice by Rod and Ed.
Their success on the field is well-documented, but the guidance they provided off the field was what set them apart. Rod not only wanted us to be good players, but good people who made good decisions and who represented the Broncos well in the community. He wanted us to avoid the trappings of NFL fame, of which there are many.
One day, he brought all the rookies into a meeting room after practice and began to teach us about our money. “If you buy a $50,000 car, it’s not just you signing your name on the dotted line. It’s this,” he said, before reaching into a black bag and pulled out 50k in cash and dropping it on the table. “Wow,” I thought, “I could have used this speech last week.” The ink was barely dry on my very own $50,000 car. You live, you learn.
Later in the season, when the holidays rolled around, I was confronted with my new reality in professional sports: You don’t get to go home and spend it with your family. You’ve got a game to play. So when Christmas fell on a Thursday, McCaffrey saw that I had nowhere to go and invited me over for dinner. There was just one condition: I had to dress up as Santa Claus for a meet and greet with his kids.
Of course, I agreed.
After parking on the side of his house, Eddie came out and gave me my Santa suit. I put it on and headed up the walkway to the front door, bellowing “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Eddie ushered me in and I did my best St. Nick impersonation, asking the boys if they’ve been good and telling them jolly stories of life in the North Pole. I was out of there in 10 minutes flat and back at my car, where I changed into civilian clothes and came back for dinner, trying to act natural.
Seventeen years later, as I see the success his boys have had in athletics, I can trace a clear line back to that moment on Christmas Day, when they were inspired to greatness by that skinny Santa Claus with the five-o’clock shadow.
Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey were legends on and off the field.
