I wanted to take time to share my personal experiences and perspective on the Broncos Super Bowl 50 win and their third Lombardi Trophy. I already focused on the game and ins and outs of what transpired in the Broncos win over the Panthers in the Super Bowl. I wrote about the bigger picture of the win in regards to Peyton Manning, John Elway, Gary Kubiak and the rest of the Broncos and their organization. Now, I wanted to write about what it meant to me personally. I want to be able to read this years from now and remember what it felt like to see the Broncos win their third Super Bowl in my lifetime.
I know I am not the only Broncos fan out there. There are many other diehards just like me, but the Broncos and the NFL are my hobby, and it is in my blood. I watch every game every week- no matter what day or night they are playing. I have the NFL Sunday Ticket so I can enjoy the Broncos in the comfort of my own home with my wife and my two sons. I spend countless hours texting or talking to my Dad, my family, and my friends about the games. I wear Broncos gear virtually everyday during the season and most of the offseason. I have a special gameday outfit that I pick out before each season. I wear an orange and blue tie to work on Mondays after a Broncos win. I spend way too much free time on message boards, writing on this blog, reading Twitter and analyzing every possible move the Broncos make from free agency through the draft in May. I spend time each day reading the Denver Post during training camp to get updates on the team. I rewatch the games during the week to analyze some of the strategy and decisions in the games. I live and die with the Broncos, and it has become a 365 day commitment and like a full-time job. I bleed orange and blue, and I do all of this just to see them win a Super Bowl. Sometimes, I take the losses way too seriously, and sometimes I rejoice a little too much with the victories. Why? The answer is easy: You want to invest all this time to this team because you want to be there when they win a championship. This year, I got to experience that feeling once again. It is as amazing and glorious as it was 17 years ago.
In January of 1999, the Broncos won their second consecutive Super Bowl when they pounded Atlanta 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII. John Elway won his second Super Bowl in a row, and he won the Super Bowl MVP in that game to send off his career in a perfect way. I was 19 at the time and a sophomore in college. I had just witnessed my favorite team win their second Super Bowl in a row and my favorite player and idol got to ride off into the sunset. How could it get any better than that? I was so satisfied and happy that I told myself at the time that I wouldn't complain or get frustrated about the Broncos for a long time. Growing up as a Broncos fan was a mixture of joy and heartbreak. In my elementary school years, Denver got to three Super Bowls in four years, but they got killed in all three games. I was upset and sad after each loss, but with John Elway as their QB, I realized even at that age that the Broncos could be contenders every year. After some really good seasons and some mediocre ones, the Broncos looked like a Super Bowl team once again in 1996. Unfortunately, my dreams were dashed when the 13-3 Broncos were upset by the Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game. It looked like Elway was never going to get that Super Bowl ring he and I both cherished. Of course, the Broncos came right back, went 12-4 in 1997 and went on a magical run in the playoffs and upset the Packers and Brett Favre in Super Bowl XXXII, and the Broncos had their first ever Lombardi Trophy. The next year in 1998 they went 14-2 and repeated as Super Bowl Champions and Elway perfectly capped his great career. Even though Elway was retiring, you had a feeling that the Broncos were going to be perennial contenders. Unfortunately, things didn't go that way. The Broncos returned to the playoffs in 2000, 2003, and 2004, but each time they were eliminated in the Wild Card Round. In 2005, with Jake Plummer leading the way at QB, the Broncos were 13-3 and a very legitimate contender in the AFC. They hosted the defending champion Patriots in the Divisional Round in Denver and defeated them 27-13 to head to the AFC Championship Game. They hosted the Steelers in that game as a result of Pittsburgh's upset win over the Colts in the other AFC playoff game. As a home favorite, the Broncos got buried by the Steelers 34-17, and a golden chance at another Super Bowl was gone. After that game, the Broncos went into the darkest period of my lifetime as Broncos fan. The terrible loss on New Year's Eve to a 6-9 San Francisco team at home to knock them out of playoff contention in Week 17, and the shooting death of Darrent Williams that night totally marred the 2006 season. The epic collapse in 2008 when they were 8-5 and had a three game lead over the Chargers in 2008. A three-game losing streak capped by a blowout loss in San Diego in Week 17 kept them out of the playoffs once again. The subsequent firing of Mike Shanahan, the ill-fated hiring of Josh McDaniels, the Jay Cutler trade debacle, and another collapse at the end of the 2009 season made me wonder if the Broncos were a cursed franchise like the Red Sox and the Cubs. I thought things couldn't get any worse until the 2010 season when the Broncos went 4-12, fired McDaniels in December of that year, and looked like the laughing stock of the NFL. Pat Bowlen went out and hired John Elway to run the front office and right the ship in Denver. At the time, I liked the idea of hiring Elway, but with no GM experience was this move going to pay off at all? Elway immediately restored the credibility of the franchise, and he went out and hired the best coaching candidate out there at the time in John Fox. Elway drafted Von Miller with the #2 pick in the 2011 Draft, and the Broncos started to rebuild their defense and the overall team. 2011 will always be remembered as the year of Tim Tebow in Denver. With the Broncos at 1-4, Elway and Fox decided to find out what Tebow had to offer at QB, and when Tebow got his chance, Tebowmania took hold of the nation. Tebow led the Broncos to seven wins in eight games and at 8-5, the Broncos were alive for a playoff berth and they were the story of the NFL. The Broncos were relevant again. They were a national story. Even after Tebow faltered a bit at the end of the year, the Broncos finished 8-8 and got into the playoffs as AFC West Champs. It was their first playoff berth in five years, and they shocked the world with their huge upset win over the Steelers in the Wild Card Game when Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for an 80 yard TD on the first play of overtime to win the game. Although they got crushed the next week in New England, the Broncos were the feel good story of the league, and with Tebow they had the possibility of building this team to a top contender. Then, all of a sudden Peyton Manning became available. Manning missed all of 2011 with a neck injury, and the Colts were picking #1 in the 2012 Draft and they were going to take Andrew Luck, the best QB prospect since Manning, and they decided to release Manning. The news filtered early that the Broncos were interested in Manning and Manning was interested in joining the Broncos. When I found out that Manning picked Denver as his next team, I was overjoyed,. It was like Christmas Day. Although the Tebow era was going to be over in Denver, the Broncos were going to have Peyton Fucking Manning as their QB! The move to get Manning was Elway's signature move in Denver, and it turned the Broncos into a legitimate Super Bowl contender and made them a must-watch team alongside the Patriots, the Cowboys, and the Steelers. As a Broncos fan, it was the first time since Elway retired that I actually felt like the Broncos had a chance to even get to a Super Bowl. Manning was as good as advertised. He delivered right away. After a 2-3 start in 2012, the Broncos and Manning got hot. They won 11 straight to end the season, finished 13-3, won the AFC West, and claimed the #1 seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Broncos lost a heartbreaker to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game when Joe Flacco found Jacoby Jones on a miracle 70 yard touchdown to tie the game with only 35 seconds left (Thanks again, Rahim Moore). The Ravens won the game 38-35 in double OT, and the Broncos dream season ended in stunning fashion. As heartbreaking as that game was, the Broncos would load up for the 2013 season. Manning threw for a NFL record 55 TDs and added another MVP to his resume. The Broncos once again finished 13-3, won the AFC West, and were the #1 see once again. This time they would not be denied. The defeated the Chargers in the Divisional Round 24-17, and they defeated Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots 26-16 to go to the Super Bowl. It looked like the Broncos and their unstoppable offense were going to cap off a dream season with another Super Bowl victory. Unfortunately, the Broncos didn't fulfill that goal and they were destroyed by the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII 43-8. It was a humiliating defeat that was shocking and unexpected. Two great years with Manning and two awful playoff defeats. Time was running out with Manning as our QB, and how many great chances were squandered? 2014 saw the Broncos load up once again, go 12-4, win the AFC West again, and finish with the #2 seed in the AFC. A first round bye set up the Broncos as a huge favorite over the Colts coming into Denver. With Manning hobbled by a thigh injury and a team that was sleepwalking throughout the game, the Broncos were upset by Indy 24-13 in a very disappointing and discouraging defeat. As Manning walked off the field, there were thoughts that Manning was going to retire, and that the Broncos were going to have to rebuild after three years of knocking on the door as Super Bowl contenders. I remember thinking that this was it for Manning and the Broncos. After three years of being close to winning another Super Bowl, the Broncos just didn't get it done and as great and successful the Manning signing was, it would be mean nothing because the Broncos never got that elusive Super Bowl title. It was about as bad of a feeling I had since the Broncos lost that playoff game to Jacksonville back in 1996. They were good enough to get to the playoffs, but they just couldn't finish the job. It was like they missed out on a golden opportunity and it would be a long time if they ever got back to that level. Dark days were ahead once again.
Elway decided to part ways with John Fox, and he hired Gary Kubiak to take over the team. Manning decided to comeback for another year, and Kubiak hired Wade Phillips to take over the defense. In 2015, The Broncos were going to be a defensive minded team, that ran the ball on offense, and utilized Manning to create a Super Bowl caliber team. I bought into this philosophy, and the Broncos entered the year as a team to watch, but no one really thought they were a Super Bowl contender. I was optimistic that this team could make another run at a Super Bowl-even if no one was giving them much of a chance. A funny thing happened as the season progressed. Manning did not look like the player he was his first three years in Denver. It looked like his age, 39, was catching up to him, and he didn't look comfortable learning Kubiak's offense. On the other hand, the Broncos defense looked dominating and carried the team to their 7-0 start. After Manning went down with another injury in November, backup Brock Osweiler led the team to a 4-2 record and they had clinched a playoff berth in Week 16 win an overtime win over the Bengals. At 11-4, the Broncos got a break when the Patriots lost to the Dolphins early in the day in Week 17, and all Denver had to do was beat 4-11 San Diego at home to clinch the #1 seed. With the Broncos committing five turnovers on their first seven possessions, Kubiak made the gutsy call to go with Manning, who was serving as a healthy backup for the first time in his NFL career, over Osweiler and save the Broncos season. Down 13-7, Manning led a comeback to win the game 27-20, and the Broncos were 12-4, AFC West Champs, and #1 seed in the AFC once again. It was a remarkable turn of events, and I began to think that maybe-just maybe- this Broncos team was a team of destiny. They had the best defense in the NFL, Manning was returning from injury and was as healthy as he was all year long, and they had homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. How fitting would it be after being so close for three years with Manning for this group to go out and win the Super Bowl? Obviously, you know the story from there. A gritty win over the Steelers 23-16 in the Divisional Round. The classic win over the Patriots 20-18 in the AFC Championship Game, and then the upset over the Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.
The Broncos had their third Super Bowl victory in franchise history, and it was their first one in 17 years. At 36, I had another Super Bowl title to celebrate. 17 years is a long time. It starts to get to the point where you start to wonder if your team will ever win another Super Bowl in your lifetime. There were a lot of ups and downs during those 17 years. There were some really dark moments, and there were times where you wondered if putting all of this time and energy was even worth it. Of course it is worth it when you see the Broncos hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Everything you do is worth it. All the wins, all the losses, all the time analyzing the moves in free agency, all the time watching the draft finally pays off. It is a feeling that I wish every fan of every team got to experience at least once. It justifies everything you do as a fan. For me, it made me realize how special and important the Broncos are to me. As I said earlier, the Broncos are a huge part of my life. I used to joke that the most important things in my life were my family, my friends, and the Broncos-put not necessarily in that order. I was only half joking. I was fortunate enough to see them win when I was 18 and 19 years old. I saw John Elway ride off into the sunset with a Super Bowl title. Then, 17 years later I got to experience that feeling once again. Elway came back to the franchise as Executive VP/GM, he landed Manning in free agency, and built one of the best defenses in the history of the NFL and he brought a Super Bowl championship back to the Broncos fanbase with Peyton Manning riding off into the sunset. The best part of winning of a Super Bowl is that it makes up for all the years of frustration that preceded that title. The wins in 1997 and 1998 made up for the Super Bowl losses in the 80s. This win in 2015 makes up for the loss to Baltimore in 2012, the Super Bowl defeat in 2013, and the listless loss to the Colts in 2014. It actually makes the Super Bowl win sweeter when you have recent failures like the Broncos had the past three years. It makes up for all those games I stayed up late to watch, all those games I cursed and screamed, and all those games I jumped up and down and cheered. At 36, I no longer had to wonder if the Broncos were ever going to win another Super Bowl. I got to share this with my family, my wife, and my two sons. They got to experience what I experienced 17 years ago. Winning Super Bowl 50, means that every year no matter how bad the Broncos season was, I can watch the Super Bowl highlights marathon on NFL Network and smile as I see the footage of Von Miller crushing Cam Newton and the Broncos celebrating the 24-10 upset over the heavily favored 15-1 Carolina Panthers. It doesn't get much better. How could I complain about that?
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