The Broncos Optimists Club

So ... January 12, 2013.

Is it weird to come back out here tonight, - the night the Broncos lost to the Ravens in the Divisional playoffs at home at Mile High ... (coincidentally nearly 4 years to the day after the last post written here) and write again about why I'm a Broncos Optimist?

Is it weird to not have written anything during the years of McDaniels and his QB hoarding and sad trades and wannabe Belichickian scheming?

Is it weird to have not blogged about optimism and Broncos-mania over the 2011-12 season with the crazy and unbelievable wins from Tim Tebow?

Is it weird to not have come out to this space to write something about the team 'o my heart acquiring a Hall o' Fame QB (Peyton Manning) and dropping the man o' the hour, Tebow?

Is it weird?

Yeah. It's weird, if that's the right word for it, but understandable. I think you'll understand, gentle, quasi-interested optimist. There's a whole litany of humanistic stuff for you to embrace. Plus, blogging got boring. Snap! But back to humanism! We had a baby. Joy! She loves lots of stuff, just like babies tend to do. But it includes the NFL and she is a weekly participant in our annual family football pool (and she has since she was just under 2 years old! Also btw, she won that year. Snap twice!). Life is busy and interesting and crazy. Baby is now 5. Time marches on, but from August to January, it continues to revolve around the NFL, of course.

But also? We lost my mother unexpectedly in October of 2011. We were enveloped by a terrible sadness. We grieved and loved and lost. You have to know that the Broncos are still ridiculously a part of all of that. Two weeks before Mom died, our family was selected to be honored on the field as long-time season ticket holders (since 1960). My 3 sisters and I got to go on the field at Mile High and receive an honorary game ball for our families. It was bigger than any of us could have imagined. And within 10 days, it was a treasured moment that we all were grateful beyond belief to experience. 10 days apart, we celebrated our family's treasure trove of 6 Broncos season tickets and the #112 priority number, and then the completely unanticipated passing of our matriarch, our beloved mother.

Tebow's first win came the first weekend after we lost our mom. Tebow's first crazy win happened October 23, 2011 - just on little Quinn's 4th birthday. We celebrated and threw up our arms in grief and crazy amazement. "Win for Quinn!" We cheered. But it was also a win for us, and our mom. Our mom - a huge Broncos fan, a huge football fan for her whole life, who was still on the fence about Tebow even just the weekend before she unexpectedly passed. We spent most of last season in a puddle of grief and wonderment at the weekly diversion of Tebow and the Broncos' antics. We were amazed and strangely comforted at each and every incredible win.We figured our Broncos angels on the other side were helping the team along, and helping us feel better in the process.

We lost in the playoffs last year. It was ok. We expected that. Tebow was never going to lead us to a Super Bowl victory, right? But the ride was blessedly enjoyable and for us, bittersweet joy. We lapped it up.

I adored and continue to adore the diversion and the hopeful nature of football. Every day, any team can win. That's worth cheering for.

This year, we added Peyton Manning to the mix. Mom never really cared for his playing style. Neither did some of us Optimists. Not all of us, sure. Some have been Manning faniacs for years (ahem, Maureen!?). Others of us (myself included) were not easily ready to embrace the mix of Manning's determined bossiness in the pocket and tendency to get hot under the collar (at his own teammates at times) vs. his obvious meticulous skill and laser-focus on football. This season changed all of us. We saw a Manning who didn't lash out at teammates. We saw a Manning who was patient and talented and who delivered. We all love him now.

Manning helped deliver a #1 seed in the playoffs this year. The whole team was promising and talented. The statistics backed up what Broncos fans always believe, in other words, "We have a GREAT team!" Defense, Offense, talent, talent, talent. Miller, Dumervil, Bailey, Clady, Stokely, McGahee, Moreno, Decker, Thomas. Really, this 2012-13 team is one of the best we've seen since ... the Elway Super Bowl years. (Thank you, Elway. And the Elway as Vice President of Football Operations is a whole 'nother blog post, don'tcha think!?)

But today, we lost. At home. In an incredibly prolonged game. With the 12th man watching, longing, hungering, wailing, and finally mourning. It feels rather Jacksonville-ish, circa 1996, eh?

Can Manning win in an outdoors playoff scenario? Does he deliver the Mile High Magic? What happened to the O-line? The D secondary? Champ Bailey had his worst game in forever during a divisional playoff? WTH!? Can football bio-engineer a perfect team? Can Elway continue to convince Manning that every HOF player deserves the final game Elway managed to attain?

I love football. But tonight, I'm tired of it. I'm tired. The game today was TOO LONG and ended too dishearteningly for me. Dumb football. You take too much of my time.

And yet ... Are we still Optimists?

Yes.

We've always been Optimists. We will always root for our team. We will always wear orange and blue, we will always look at an orange sunset against the blue Rocky Mountains and think of the Broncos, we will always call the stadium "Mile High." We can sing the words to "Make Those Miracles Happen" and "Nobody Does it Better" and think of the '77 Orange Crush team. We stood for hours to celebrate the 1997 win at Denver Civic Center. We cheer the Broncos players who are finally making it into the NFL Hall of Fame. We embrace Elway taking charge of the business operations and we champion Pat Bowlen's long run of being a superior NFL team owner. We look forward to every game - whether we watch it on tv or in the stadium. From September to December, Broncos games are the highlight of nearly every week.

We are Broncos fans. We are the magic. We will be paying attention come training camp 2013. We will tune in and/or attend those preseason games. We'll be following what happens to the Broncos staff and players offseason. And we WILL be at the home opener at Mile High 2013.

Forever, Go Broncos. Thank you for always giving us something to cheer for.

Ok, so just when I was feeling like all of the Optimist had been slowly drained from me, the Broncos go and kick start a new era. Thanks, Bowlen! Really!

Josh McDaniels is the fresh (YOUNG!) face of this new era. The 12th head coach of the Denver Broncos. I don't know a lot about McDaniels, but you gotta admire his ambition and tenacity to the game and to his career. And I watched him talk on the news last night. My first impression was, "hmm ... he sounds like Eric Taylor on FNL." Which is a good thing. A VERY good thing, at least in my little unimportant corner of the world. My second impression was that he's going to try very hard to enjoy some success, and that's also a very good thing - but in a larger corner of the world.

The Broncos have been sapping my energy and my money. I was never one to call for the firing of Shanahan, but now that it has happened, I can see that it was the right thing to do. We need a new start. And we've got one. Should be interesting!

My dad used to get so hyped up for the start of football season that he would actually begin a countdown weeks prior to training camp. In those days, conversations with dad would go something like this:

Dad: Peggy?
Me: Yeah, Dad?
Dad: 12 days, 8 hours and 20 minutes.
Me: Huh?
Dad: 12 days, 8 hours and .... 19 minutes.
Me: (with quizzical look) 12 days, 8 hours and 19 minutes what?
Dad: Until Broncos training camp. (SMILES)
Me: (rolls eyes) SIGH!

After all these years, I owe dad an apology. For the eye rolling, for the sighing, for just not getting it.

Daddy, I get it now. Football season is upon us. Football season! Screw the Christmas song - Football Season is the Most! Wonderful! Time of the Year!

Maybe I'm looking more forward to this season because I was otherwise occupied last season (i.e. - either pregnant or nursing a newborn). Maybe I'm excited because the Broncos have made some unpredictable changes during this offseason. Maybe my excitement stems from our gradually maturing and talented young team. But more than likely, I think I've just finally caught on to the excitement my dad had back in the day.

Football season means fun, and competition, and excitement, and busy Sundays, and parties, and good food, and tailgating, and Mile Hi stadium, and cheering, and jeering, and flyovers, and laughter, and white knuckles, and slow motion replays, and timeclocks, and jerseys, and clapping so hard your hands hurt, and hating some football announcers and loving others, and football pools, and family contests, and just GOOD TIMES. Some of the best times I've ever had with my friends and family have been around football. Why not get excited!?

Season '08. Go!

Well - it's only a week post-season, but I'm already suffering from football withdrawal. Although we didn't post much this year (guess even the optimists didn't have much to say about our losing season!), we're definitely still big fans!

This year WAS a rebuilding year for the team, and for the Broncos Optimists Club. We added a new optimist to our club (see picture above). She was born smack-dab in the middle of the season. We knew she was going to be a big Broncos fan when we found out her due date was right around the bye week. Thanks baby! Mommy and Daddy didn't even miss one game!

We're all looking forward to next year. The team is building and maturing. I think we will see the re-emergence of the AFC West as a competitive division. Well, that is if the Oakland Raiders actually can accomplish something with the talent they've accumulated and if the Kansas City Chiefs can pull it together. San Diego has to deal with their heartbreak in the playoffs again, but that gives them drive. The Broncos show promise, especially in some of our younger players. And change in the O-line and defense are all good things.

Already looking forward to training camp -

The Optimist.

Whoo Hoo!

Click here to see the schedule.

Last night (Saturday), Scott and I went to his company party. It was a festive affair, held at the new Adams Family Mystery Dinner theater in north Denver. We watched and were part of a fun mystery show, that had us guessing who the "murderer" was in a staged event set up specifically for the folks who worked for Scott's company. It was cute. It was fun.

At some point in the evening, the company's actors asked different individuals to stand up and read the clues that they found around the place. The clues were set-ups; they were simple notes found around tables at the party that gave the guests additional information about the mystery we were supposed to be unravelling.

The show was part mystery theater, and part improvisational roast for the owner of the company. Scott's boss is in retail and is VERY well known to people in Denver, (especially those who know where one-half mile east of I-25 on Emporia Street is), and those in SF, and ATL, and Minneapolis, and Portland, and Louisville, and Salt Lake and, well, anyway ... The improv roast bit included much chiding and kidding and making fun of co-workers. It was part of the bit, ya' know?

Oh, I forgot to mention that Scott's boss brought his 7-year old daughter to the show ...

Anyway, the company's actors at some point in the evening asked Scott's boss' daughter to read the clue found by the folks at her table. I think I already mentioned she is 7-years old. Did I also mention that her dad is a multi-millionaire and that she attends the BEST schools available to her on the Front Range? Did I mention that she's a bright and wonderful child?

The mystery company's actors asked this wonderful 7-year old girl to stand up in front of her father's ENTIRE corporate body of employees and read the clue found by everyone at her table. She read it. She read in an absolutely stellar 7-year old kind of way. She worked her way through the words she didn't know. She sounded them out, in that phonics, school-yard kind of way. She squinted with concentration, then very cutely giggled after she worked through a particularly hard part. In other words, she did a STELLAR job for a newbie reader. She got to identify the suspect she thought was guilty. She was wrong. Most of us knew it. But, she got a huge ovation, in spite of stumbling over a few words and guessing the obvious, and obviously wrong, suspect. Everyone at the party knew that that we were watching a little girl who would Wow! people one day. She is a bright, apt, and capable young person. She has the capabilities, the inherited privledge, and the optimistic desire to do well. And she will do well.

Why do I mention this on a Denver Broncos NFL Blog? Umm ... well, I don't think I have to say it, but I will ...

Tonight's game against San Diego ... it was tough. It is obvious that San Diego is THE team with their ducks in a row. It seems to be "their" year. They've been planning this. They are ready. They know exactly what they are doing at this point in the season. Their game plan is superior, their roster is incredible, they are ready in ways that the Broncos are NOT yet ready.

But watching some of Cutler's passes tonight, especially in the third quarter, reminded me of young Miss Scott's Boss' daughter. Like that little girl, Cutler shows so much promise.

The game? Disappointing. But this year, disappointing doesn't feel quite as bad as a fan, because this year, I think that the team is investing in a future that will be rewarding.

Just like watching a 7-year old girl read a difficult paragraph in front of a room full of adults ... Or watching a rookie NFL quarterback pass a football to a receiver like a thread through a needle and pull a lost team from zero to something, even if for a short while ...

Not every syllable is exactly correct, but in reaching for that which is the most challenging, the young Miss, and the young Rookie, gave us all something to smile about - for a Saturday evening, or a Sunday afternoon, or HECK - maybe even an entire off-season.

I'm not writing the Broncos off, but I guess that part of me is trying to say that NOT making the playoffs this year is OK. It's OK because we are building something to be proud of.

A future worth cheering for ...

Geebuz people! Can you believe the kind of pressure young master Jay Cutler is under today? Can you imagine what it would be like to be a young rookie facing your first start in a regular season NFL game? (You know, the kind that counts!?) Can you imagine what it would be like if the city and the fans of that NFL team expected you to be the second-coming of Elway? <---- you should hear a chorus of angels singing at this point of the blog, and maybe even a gold aura around the name ...

I'll admit, I'm excited too. I even will admit that about 60 seconds after I was aware that I was awake this morning, I thought, "Wow. I wonder what Jay Cutler is feeling/thinking right now ..." And then of course I caught myself and thought, "Ok, Peg! On to real life, please?!"

But then, I turn on the morning news, and every aspect of the local broadcast is about tonight's game. Commercials in between the broadcast pump us up with expectations. It is kind of electric, really. It's the spark WE needed ... as fans.

Let's just hope he's the spark that the team needs tonight on the field.

Let the Cutler era begin ...