DOWNTOWN DENVER -- Sen. Barack Obama, hours away from accepting his party's nomination at Invesco Field, paid a surprise visit to the women of the Illinois delegation this afternoon.

"I have a speech tonight. I wanted to practice it out on you guys," Obama joked as the women gathered at the Marriott downtown Denver cheered. "See if it works."

Dressed in a gray suit and blue tie, Illinois' junior senator spoke for about 2 minutes, thanking the women for helping get his political career started.

He told the crowd it was "like going back on memory lane" as he pointed out friends who worked on his previous campaigns, including runs for state senate, a failed Congressional bid and his 2004 Senate race.

"I have not forgotten where I came from," Obama said. "I haven't forgotten who got me here. It's because of all of you."

"It's because of all of you that Michelle and I have this great honor of helping to lead this party and take back this White House. Everything I do I do because of what I've learned from you, because of the support you've given me."

As he spoke, one woman yelled out: "I love you!"

Delores Register, of Oak Park, Ill., called it "very emotional" and "very meaningful."

"Here we were eating lunch, and it was like the clouds parted and the sun was shining in," she said.

Earlier today, Obama played basketball at the Denver Athletic Club. He slipped in a side door around 8:15 a.m. with his personal aide, Reggie Love, and adviser Dr. Eric Whitaker. They played for about an hour.

Obama will take the stage at Invesco around 8 p.m.