Montezuma teen enjoys a Make-A-Wish trip to watch the Broncos

​Peyton Tindle hangs on to his signed Denver Broncos football while meeting and shaking hands with Bo Nix, the starting quarterback for the Broncos. Photo by Ben Swanson.

by J.O. Parker
 
   A trip to Colorado to see the Denver Broncos play football was a memory of a lifetime for a Montezuma High School senior.
   Peyton Tindle, 18, and his family spent four days in Denver where they toured the Broncos training facilities and watched the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs play football at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 16.
   Peyton’s parents, Jeff and Megan Tindle, and his brothers, Gavin and Sawyer, joined him on the trip.
   Make-A-Wish Iowa and Make-A-Wish Colorado organizations worked together to make the trip to possible for Peyton, a cancer survivor.
   Peyton was diagnosed in the Spring of 2024 with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Stage 2. He endured four rounds of chemotherapy (eight treatments in total) over a three month time table with his final round on Aug. 7 that year.
   He rang and signed the cancer-free bell at Blank Children’s Hospital in September 2024 with family present, and has remained cancer free ever since.
   He was nominated for the Make-A-Wish trip by his doctors and nurses at Blanks.
  Peyton, a huge Broncos fan, and family enjoyed a ride in a limo to visit and tour the Broncos Training Facility on Saturday, Nov. 15.
   It was there that Peyton mingled with the players and coaches and caught a touchdown pass from No. 8 Jarrett Stidham, the Broncos backup quarterback.
   He then spiked the ball in the endzone.
   Ben Swanson, manager of photography and digital media for the Broncos, took photos of Peyton and his family while on the tour.
   Peyton was able to meet Eyioma Uwazurike, an Iowa State University football player, who plays on defense for the Broncos and Riley Moss, a University of Iowa player from Ankeny, who plays cornerback at Denver.
   They also met head coach Sean Payton and George Paton, general manager of the Broncos.
   All the players and coaches signed and gave him a Bronco’s football.
   Peyton plans to put the football in a display case.
   Peyton and family enjoyed lunch in the team dining room as part of the three-hour training facility tour.  
   Peyton said the menu included steak, pasta, grilled shrimp, a large salad bar and chicken strips, his favorite.
   “They have a whole area of all kinds of nutritional and other drinks,” said his mom, Megan.
   They toured all the facility including team meeting rooms, therapy/training room, weight room, pools, a video production and television studio and more.
   Peyton also saw the team’s three Super Bowl trophies from 1998, 1999 and 2016. He said there are replica trophies located throughout the training facility to remind the team what their ultimate goal is each season.
   He also received a Broncos Jersey with No. 1 on it and his name across the back that he wore to the game.
   And on game day, Peyton and family were able to be on the sidelines as the team warmed up. The family had 11th row seats right behind the team bench.
   The Broncos won the game, 22-19, on a last minute field goal by Wil Lutz, who Peyton also met during his tour. The Broncos hold a 9-2 record with an eight game win streak following the Kansas City win.
   In addition to the jersey, Peyton received numerous shirts, hats and memorabilia from the Broncos and Make-A-Wish.
   All expenses of the trip were paid by Make-A-Wish. The family stayed at the Crawford Hotel at Union Station in Denver.
   They had a rental car with a gas voucher, a food voucher and fun money for souvenirs.
   While in Colorado, Peyton and family visited the Garden of Gods, went bowling, rode go carts and visited an escape room, which they solved with five minutes to spare. The family also visited a couple souvenir shops and toured Denver and nearby Boulder.
   When asked what his favorite part of trip was, Peyton said he enjoyed it all.
   “It was great to watch the game from row 11,” he said.
   “There were too many one-of-a-kinds,” added Peyton’s mom, Megan.