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| Tears for Blanda, cowboy poets and ‘Spread the Word’
by Chris Aaland
But at least we didn’t have to wear black. Nearly everyone in Colorado hated the Oakland Raiders with a passion. If you wore the silver & black around the playground, you likely took a beating or two. Rifle was Broncos country, and the late 1970s were the time Red Miller, Craig Morton and the Orange Crush defense were making miracles happen, much like in fullback Jon Keyworth’s bad soft rock/disco song that dominated Centennial State airwaves in 1977. But one Raider always stood out. George Blanda was an icon. With his rugged face, sideburns and good-old-boy looks, he reminded us of our grandfathers. He was 48 years old, when he played his last NFL game, the AFC championship on Jan. 4, 1976 – a 16-10 loss that saw him kick a 41-yard field goal and an extra point. Blanda retired as the NFL’s all-time scoring leader (a record since broken), amassing 2,002 points in 26 seasons that spanned four decades, from 1949 - 1975. While many know him as a place-kicker (and one of the last straight-ahead kickers in NFL history), he was also a great quarterback, playing for the Chicago Bears, Houston Oilers and, ultimately, the Pride & Poise boys. At age 43, he replaced an injured Daryl Lamonica as Raiders’ quarterback in the AFC Championship game, threw two touchdown passes and kicked a 48-yard field goal in a losing effort. No other 43-year-old has ever quarterbacked a team in a championship contest. His last football card was a 1976 Topps issue. Battered and wrinkled, it’s still one of the favorites in my collection. Blanda died Monday at age 83. Most Broncos fans bleed orange and blue, and I’m no different. On Monday night, though, I cried silver and black. The Durango Cowboy Poet Gathering is once again upon us and, in addition to some of the finest contemporary Western wordsmiths around, some great music is lined up. At 7 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Sept. 30), Red Steagall & his Bunkhouse Boys will perform at the Community Concert Hall. Steagall is best known for his Texas swing dance music, which he’s brought to all corners of the globe for the past 40 years. Then at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Hot Club of Cowtown will bring Western swing to the VFW. I’ve been a fan of the Hot Club’s for more than 10 years. Fiddler Elana James, guitarist Whit Smith and bassist Jake Erwin have crafted a nice little career out of standards from the ‘30s and ‘40s as well as originals and clever covers of more recent songs. Their latest release, “Wishful Thinking,” came out in 2009. Visit www.durangocowboygathering.org for a complete schedule. Fort Lewis College community radio station KDUR kicks off its fall membership drive Friday with the annual guest DJ day. This year, Durango’s community banks will vie to raise the most funds for KDUR in an hour of on-air pitching. The reigning champion, attorney Matt Kenna, will return to defend his cup from last year (a Mike Brieger original sculpture). The theme of this year’s fund drive is “Spread the Word,” and it continues through Fri., Oct. 8, with special guest interviews, live entertainment and all your favorite DJs spinning music. To support KDUR, call 247-7262 or visit www.kdur.org. The last Ska-B-Q of September is a blues-rock affair starting at 5 p.m. tonight with Vay Santos. - Fred Biletnikoff. Even without stick-um, he had great hands. - Dave Casper. “The Ghost” was arguably the best NFL tight end ever. - Ken Stabler. A true good old boy. The autumn wind is a pirate? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net. •
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The Independent Weekly Line on Durango and Beyond
My pee-wee football league in Rifle had four teams: red, white, blue and gold. The red team had Kansas City Chiefs-inspired uniforms; the white, the Dallas Cowboys; the Blue, the Denver Broncos; and the gold, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The lucky kids on the blue team had regional pride on their side. We got stuck with the red – and we stunk.