DeMarcus Ware returns to stadium with split allegiances
For the first time since he retired, DeMarcus Ware took the field during pregame warmups without his blue and orange and without a football in his hand. His hands had to be free to shake many others.
He started with Emmanuel Sanders, who welcomed him with a scream, a big hug and a comment on his maroon buttondown shirt — a far cry from the Broncos’ jersey Ware wore for three years and Cowboys one he donned for nine.
“What you got on, man?!” Sanders asked with a smile as he held up Ware’s sleeve.
Then Ware made his way to the middle of the field to greet old teammates and coaches from Dallas before heading to the Broncos’ sideline, where receivers Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer awaited to play catch with Ware’s son. A handshake here, a selfie there and then a walk back to the locker room capped his brief gameday warmup.
“I’m so glad I’m not warming up because I don’t know if my body can warm up,” he said with a wide grin. “But to see the guys in the locker like Demaryius and Von (Miller) and the list goes on. You see the coaches and two great owners on both sides, it just brings back all that hard work you put in and you can see — it just was a good time.”
But Ware’s moment in the big spotlight was coming.
Sunday, the Broncos and Cowboys paid tribute to the former pass rusher, making him the alumni captain during the coin toss and honoring him with a video played after the first quarter that recounted his three seasons in Denver.
In March, Ware announced his retirement after 12 NFL seasons, spurning multiple offers to return as a free agent.
“My back was my reason. I couldn’t play with my kids. I couldn’t sit down,” Ware said. “There were a lot of reasons why, and you want to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor after football. And that big part was my kids. Now, to have an opportuni- ty to reap some of those benefits — I saw one of the articles that said I didn’t read those articles during my years of playing and now I go back and open that big bin and you see all things the accolades that you had. That doesn’t mean anything really, because the moments you had in the locker room, the moments that you had with the guys, that’s what matters.”
In his return to Sports Authority Field, Ware got to experience it all once again.
So did his family.
“You can never get experiences like he is experiencing now,” Ware said of his son. “Throwing the ball with Demaryius Thomas and playing with some of the guys, meeting some of the other players. It’s just great to see that he loves football, but I’m not going to push him to football. I said, ‘Daddy’s played enough football. Why don’t you play a little basketball. They have a little more guaranteed money.’ But it’s just an opportunity for him to experience, and my family as well.”