Kristen Patterson said her husband Sgt. Ryan Patterson, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, "Arctic Wolves" aviation operations sergeant, is the biggest Peyton Manning fan. She knew if she could arrange for the two to meet, "It would make me the coolest wife ever of all time."
Kristen wrote Manning a letter in September requesting a chance for her husband to meet the legendary Broncos quarterback. She said she had forgotten about the letter when she received a call from the Alaska State Troopers saying the Broncos' public relations office contacted them asking for her phone number.
"I was completely shocked. Who takes the time to call someone's electric company and get their phone number?" said Kristen.
Kristen's letter said they would be attending the Bengals-Broncos game Dec. 22, 2014, while home for the holidays. By the time Manning read the letter, the Pattersons had already left their home in North Pole and Kristen had not included a phone number. Manning used the return address on the letter and enlisted the help of the utility company and the Alaska State Troopers in an effort to contact Kristen and arrange a meeting with her husband.
The Pattersons are originally from Indiana but live in North Pole with their daughter Olivia while Ryan is stationed at Fort Wainwright.
"(Manning) said we were difficult people to find," said Ryan. "He thought it was hilarious they had to contact the North Pole, Alaska utility company to find us."
Although the meeting was short, it definitely made an impression on the Pattersons.
"Everybody we interacted with from the Broncos organization was really nice and professional," said Ryan.
"I definitely have a higher opinion of the Denver Broncos, they went above and beyond," said Kristen. "I never thought that writing a letter would have such a reaction."
Ryan said if the meeting with Peyton had been longer he would have made more small talk but that he was pretty star struck.
"I would still like to see him lose (against the Colts), I am still a Colts fan," Ryan said.
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