Dick Ebersol remembers the date — as if he could ever forget. Nov. 22, 2004 was when he met longtime Broncos owner Pat Bowlen as the team’s Dove Valley headquarters for another round of meetings that culminated with a promise.
Bowlen told his friend and former NBC Sports boss that he had his vote and that, as head of the NFL’s broadcast committee, Bowlen would see through with their vision of making Sunday night THE night for football viewing in America.
Six days later Ebersol survived a plane crash in western Colorado that killed his youngest son, Teddy, and the flight’s crew, leaving Dick bedridden and in emotional despair over the tragedy.