An Alaskan Army wife wrote a letter to Peyton Manning causing the Denver Broncos quarterback and the team’s public relations staff to spend three months tracking down her and her husband who had recently been stations at Fort Wainwright.
In the letter, Kristen Patterson wrote that her husband, Army Sgt. Ryan Patterson, was one of Manning’s biggest fans. She asked if Manning might have time to meet with them as they were traveling to Cincinnati for a Bengals vs. Broncos game on December 22.
The Broncos received the letter but Kristen had forgotten to put a return address on the letter and the family had recently moved to North Pole, Alaska where Ryan was stationed.
Manning and the team’s public relations staff spent three months figuring out where the letter came from, eventually using the Alaska State Troopers to contact Kristen.
That led to a meet-up for the Pattersons with Manning at the Bronco’s team hotel the day before the Cincinnati game where Ryan received an autographed football.