Often times, we get so caught too up in the ‘what’s happening now’ to take a moment to reflect on the great Broncos players that once repped the orange and blue. Forget Christian Okoye, the Broncos once had a Nigerian Nightmare of their own.
Patrick Chukwurah was born in Nigeria, attended high school in Irving, Texas, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 5th round of the 2001 draft, 157 overall. After a couple seasons in Minnesota and a brief offseason cup of coffee with the Texans, “The
Predator” joined the broncos in 2003… for two days before being released. At the end of the 2003 season, Chukwurah rejoined the Broncos and would go on to play in 14 games in 2004, recording 9 tackles and 1 sack. During the Broncos AFC Championship run in 2005, he again played 14 games, notching 7 tackles. Chukwurah’s best season was in 2006 where he made 26 tackles and notched 4.5 sacks.
While these aren’t stellar stats on their face, you have to consider who Chukwurah was playing with: Trevor Pryce, Al Wilson, DJ Williams, Ian Gold, John Lynch, Champ Bailey, and the menagerie of Brown-cos (Gerard Warren, Ebenezer Ekuban, Courtney Brown, and Michael Myers). While his 5.5 sacks with the Broncos don’t jump off the page, the disruption he caused enabled those around him to become recognizable Broncos luminaries in their own right.
What I, personally, remember most about Chukwurah occured on September 24, 2006 in a week 3 matchup at New England that Denver won 17-7. While I am sure he wishes to be known for an epic sack or fumble, Broncos Country remembers him for something much more memorable.
At some point during the game, cameras caught Chukwurah casually vomiting on the field… but with explosive force, while wearing his helmet.
It had to be pretty unpleasant for him, but it was the slow motion replay that NBC showed that made him a legend. The stream of spew didn’t just signify what he had eaten before the game, but embodied the personal sacrifice that players make to play this game. The memes at the time were delicious. One YouTube video crosscut the action on the field with the infamous ipecac episode of Family Guy. Fans coined the nickname, Patrick Up-Chukwurah. For fans of vomit humor like myself, it was a golden era. For years, you could find replays of it on the internet, but time appears to have clouded those google searches and I was unable to locate a copy for this article.
At 6’1 and 250 lbs with long dreadlocks, ‘The Predator’ was a force to be reckoned with back in the day. His commitment to the game and the Broncos should never be questioned. He will be forever remembered to have quite literally left it all on the field against in Foxboro that Sunday night in September against the Patriots.
