When the Denver Broncos take the field for the AFC divisional playoff game this Sunday at Sports Authority Field, there will be over 75,000 fans in attendance, a veritable sea of orange and blue cheering loudly for home team.
But for one player, there might be one very special attendee that stands out among the crowd.
Katina Smith, mother of Bronco wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, has never seen her son play in a football game. For the last 16 years, Smith has been in prison, serving time for a drug trafficking offense. Thomas was 11 when his mother was arrested.
In 2015, Smith's sentence was commuted by President Obama. Because of strict travel restrictions as a condition of her release, she has not been able to watch any of her son's games in person. Now, with the travel ban lifted, Thomas is hoping to have his mother in attendance when the Broncos face the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I know she'd be excited," Thomas says. "It'd mean a lot for her to see my first game live."
A SECOND CHANCE
While separated by prison walls, Thomas and his mother began repairing their relationship when Smith wrote to him in 2006, asking for his forgiveness. Thomas would call his mother, both before and after every game to talk about football—and more.
When Thomas played in the Super Bowl in 2014, his mother cheered him from afar, watching from prison, and even taping his uniform number on her prison-issued outfit. This year, the outfit will likely be more authentic, and the post-game conversation, hopefully, face-to-face.