A PERFECT ENDING; ELWAY SHOULD RETIRE.

Byline: KAREN CROUSE

In his 15-year NFL career, Denver quarterback John Elway has scripted more spine-tingling endings than Stephen King. His game-winning drive against Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXII was his 145th in 220 starts. On Sunday we weren't able to get much closer to him than the Packers' Reggie White or we'd have advised him to make it his last.

They're holding a ticker-tape parade for the Broncos in Denver today. Given Elway's many years of loyal and celebrated service to the team, it's bound to take on the appearances of a ``John Elway Appreciation Day.'' Thus the stage is nicely set for the former Granada Hills High standout to announce his retirement while he's on top of the world and not just a mile high.

To be sure, a strong case could be built for Elway playing another season or two. As he deftly demonstrated on Sunday, he remains a master at moving the chains, be it with his arm, his feet, his head or his heart. If he returns, Elway has the chance to become only the sixth quarterback to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. He can join Miami's Dan Marino as the only players in league history to pass for at least 50,000 yards.

Then again, the Broncos could go another eight years - or more - before getting back to the Super Bowl. Elway could suffer an injury more serious than the frayed tendon in his right biceps that gave him a scare this past exhibition season. And there's no skirting the fact that eventually, inevitably, his magic will leave him for someone younger.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Elway played ``exceptional football'' during the season just completed. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen went so far as to say it was arguably Elway's finest season ever. Bowlen wants Elway to continue playing. But he has plans for a new stadium and a bottom line to cloud his thinking.

The way we look at it is, from what better vantage point can you view a sunset than from the highest peak? We can't imagine any better way of going out than on top.

Sure, it would have been nice to have seen Sandy Koufax pitch a few more years. But remember Willie Mays? Of course, it would be wonderful to see Elway thread another pass or two hundred. But remember Joe Namath?

There are far worse final frames than the photograph shot on the Qualcomm Stadium field Sunday that showed Elway leaping in the air like a little kid, hugging the game ball his center Tom Nalen had saved for him. May Elway forever remember the rapture he felt that moment rather than the rust that inexorably is settling into his joints.

It was painful to see Elway limp to the podium to be interviewed after the game with the stooped carriage of someone twice his age. His body language tells the story of too many years with too little protection in front of him.

To his NFL-record 138 regular-season wins and 48,792 career passing yards you can add 32 injuries and five surgeries. Elway and his wife Janet have four children, ages 12, 10, 8 and 6. If Elway wants to be able to pitch to his two youngest, Juliana and Jack, or have the next dance someday with his oldest two, Jessica and Jordan, the sooner he gives his body a break from football, the better.

Elway, 37, was the second-oldest quarterback to lead his team into a Super Bowl. Baltimore's John Unitas was 44 days older when he led the Colts past Dallas in 1971. The injury Elway suffered last August was a reminder that even the most bionic of arms has an expiration date.

When forced to contemplate a life without football, he realized he would be luckier than most. With a lovely wife, four healthy children, an abundance of material riches AND a Super Bowl ring, what in the world more does he need from football?

Elway's teammate, linebacker John Mobley, said that winning a Super Bowl forces you to come up with a whole new set of goals. Well, there is nothing left for Elway to accomplish on the field, no new frontiers to conquer.

Elway can return next year, to the game that has shaped and defined him. He can soak up the camaraderie and absorb a few hundred hits and maybe even some criticism. Or he can call an audible and take off in a different direction, on his own terms.

On Sunday Elway said he was ``halfway'' between coming back and retiring. Here's hoping he decides to make today the first day of the rest of his life.

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PHOTO (Color) John Elway's career reached its pinnacle Sunday with a Super Bowl victory over Green Bay.

Joe Ledford / Kansas City Star