DENVER — In 1977, miracles seemed to happen every day for Jon Keyworth.
As the Denver Broncos' No. 1 fullback, he generated touchdowns and headlines during a wild ride to the Super Bowl.
But the fantasy didn't end there.
In the thick of a euphoric season, Keyworth cut a record that commandeered Denver airwaves and became an instant anthem for crusading fans.
"Make Those Miracles Happen," a sentimental ode to impossible dreams, was released in an era when Denver still fretted over being a cow town and the Broncos were best known for their pumpkin-colored jerseys.
The '77 team smashed those perceptions, lifting Denver onto the national stage before the dream ended in a 27-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. Keyworth's anthem faded, too, except in the hearts of some teammates and fans, who will celebrate the 25th anniversary of that first Broncos Super Bowl season this fall.
Time hasn't been kind to members of the Broncos' first Super Bowl team. In the past 11 years, five of them — 10 percent of the squad — have died of cancer, including three members of the legendary Orange Crush defense.
Several players have suffered financial hardship and personal setbacks, including Keyworth, who played for the University of Colorado before heading down U.S. 36 to Denver.
But even in the worst of times, Keyworth found power in a schmaltzy song that galvanized football fans at the peak of the Disco Era, a song that defines him even now, as he nears his 52nd birthday.
"Sometimes I think if I never sang that song, people would say, 'Jon Who?' " Keyworth said.
A national sales director for an insurance company, Keyworth has endured nine major operations. But to Broncos fans, he and his teammates remain as nimble and fresh-faced as they were in 1977, when they won 12 of 14 regular-season games and Denver went bonkers.
During the six-month fantasy, Broncos fans painted their homes, cars, churches, shops and faces orange — not to mention the town when they beat the hated Raiders to earn a Super Bowl trip.
But the fun times passed.
In 1981, coach Red Miller was fired and replaced by Dan Reeves, who traded for John Elway in 1983. A new era was under way; players on the '77 team retired, then faded from public view. In the '90s, tragedy repeatedly struck the members of the team.
In 1991, Bobby Maples, a leader during the Broncos' rise to power in the mid-'70s and a backup center in '77, died in Texas of Hodgkin's disease. He was 48.
The next year, former All-Pro defensive lineman Lyle Alzado died of inoperable brain cancer he attributed to years of anabolic steroid use. He was 43.
In 1995, backup quarterback Norris Weese died after a two-year battle with bone cancer. He, too, was 43.
In 1997, starting free safety Bernard Jackson died four months after being diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer. He was 46.
And in 2000, defensive tackle Paul Smith, one of the least heralded but most effective members of the Orange Crush defense, died of pancreatic cancer. He was 54.
Keyworth was haunted by hard times, too. In 1980, his third son, Scott, was born prematurely. After several operations, Keyworth brought him home; a month later, Scott died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
"You look at all the time he spent in the hospital, at what he had to overcome," Keyworth said. "We brought him home, and a month later he just stopped breathing.
"I think about him all the time."
Keyworth filed a $7.15 million lawsuit against companies involved with DES, an anti-miscarriage drug he claimed had damaged his wife's reproductive system. After reaching a settlement, Keyworth retired in the fall of '80 at age 30, having played seven seasons with the Broncos.
Keyworth's problems weren't over. In 1984, he ended up in bankruptcy because of failed investments.
"It was my fault. I trusted a lot of people, but it was my fault. Everything rests on your own shoulders, ultimately."
Once more, Keyworth rebounded from hard times.
On Super Bowl Sunday 1996, about a year after he and his wife were divorced, Keyworth was attending a church service for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he noticed a familiar face: a woman he had dated briefly at CU in the early 1970s. They talked in the hallway; Keyworth called her that night.
"We talked until 5 the next morning," he said. "We were married 30 days later. We think it's a miracle."
Appropriate words from a big fullback who introduced a song — and attitude — to a city in transition 25 years ago.
"There is probably a really good message in that song, a message about starting over," said Keyworth, who recorded an updated version of the song for Super Bowl XXXII. "The song talks about being down and getting to the top again. Everyone has that opportunity in life if they take ownership of their mistakes, then go on from there.
"You can make those miracles happen."