A lot of memories were filling Tony Boselli’s mind as he entered Mile High Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 4, 1997.
While growing up in Boulder, the Broncos were his favorite team, and quarterback John Elway was his favorite player.
“I remembered all of those last-second games he won,” Boselli said of Elway. “I remembered sitting in front of the TV and watching the drive game in Cleveland when the Broncos came back and beat the Browns.”
But this was 10 years after the Broncos’ historic 23-20 overtime victory over the Browns in Cleveland in the AFC championship game. The Broncos once again were on Boselli’s mind, but on Jan. 4, 1997, he was wearing the uniform of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The upstart Jaguars were facing a Broncos team that many favored to go to the Super Bowl in an AFC divisional playoff game. But Jacksonville spoiled Denver’s plans with a shocking 30-27 victory in only the franchise’s second year in existence.
“That game was kind of a bittersweet thing for me,” Boselli said. “I had a lot of great moments, but that game was the highlight of my career and it happened in my second year in the league.”
The Broncos got even the next season, defeating Boselli and the Jaguars 42-17 at Mile High Stadium in an AFC wild-card game en route to winning their first Super Bowl.
Boselli has a place in Jaguars history. He was the expansion franchise’s first draft pick after two All-America seasons at USC as an offensive tackle. He was a mainstay on Jacksonville’s offensive line from 1995 to 2001.
“It was great being an expansion team’s first draft pick and second overall in the NFL draft,” Boselli said. “There were a lot of positives and only a few negatives being on an expansion team. The team didn’t have any history or tradition to build on, but that was outweighed by the opportunity to be part of something brand new and with a chance to write your own history.
“Jacksonville had never had a professional sports team, and we all had a chance to grow with the city. As long as there is a Jaguar team, I’ll be part of it.”
While the offensive line became his football home, Boselli had other ideas when he was a sophomore at Fairview High School in Boulder. Although he played pro football at 6-feet-7, 324 pounds, Boselli wanted to be a quarterback when he arrived at Fairview.
“On my first day at practice, I tried out for quarterback, but the coaching staff moved me to tight end,” Boselli said. “I had some unrealistic visions of grandeur. I played linebacker and on the defensive line, but I was destined to be an offensive lineman.”
When it came time for college, Boselli listened to a strong pitch from CU coach Bill McCartney but decided on USC. Boselli’s parents had divorced when he was in junior high school, but that wasn’t a factor in his decision.
“I never viewed it that I was from a broken home,” Boselli said. “I made the best of it, and both my parents were supportive of me, and they made sure I knew it.
“I know they would have liked me to stay home in Boulder, but it was time for me to go. I loved doing my own thing.”
Boselli looks back on a professional football career that ended too soon. A shoulder injury took him out of Jacksonville’s plans after the 2001 season. He was the first pick of the expansion Houston Texans in 2002 but spent the entire season on injured reserve. He re-signed with the Jaguars for one day in 2006 and retired.
“It was disappointing and a difficult time for me when my career ended prematurely,” Boselli said. “I love the game of football and it taught me a lot.”
Boselli and his wife, Angi, have turned their attention to programs that help underprivileged youth in Jacksonville.
“There’s nothing that compares to the adrenaline you get playing football on a Sunday afternoon,” Boselli said. “But being able to help people in ways that can change their lives also is exciting.”
The Jaguars play the Broncos again Sunday at Invesco Field. Boselli won’t get to watch the game in person because he has moved on to a new connection to football. He’ll be in the television booth as an analyst at the Minnesota-Detroit game for the Fox network.
The Jaguars-Broncos game won’t go unnoticed. Boselli’s father, Tony Boselli, still lives in Boulder and remains a big Broncos fan.
“I have to keep my loyalty to the Jaguars, and I’ll be giving him a hard time this week,” Boselli said. “I still love Boulder and Colorado and like to snow ski, but I always hurry back here to the warm weather.”
Tony Boselli bio
Born: April 17, 1972, in Modesto, Calif.
High school: Boulder Fairview
College: University of Southern California
Family: Wife Angi, sons Andrew and Adam, daughters Ashli and Alexis.
Hobbies: Golf and skiing.
Ambitions: Too many to list.
