RIP Pat Bowlen

On Friday, I woke up to the news of the passing of Pat Bowlen. He was 75 and died surrounded by his family at his home. He had battled Alzheimer's disease and he had to step away from the Broncos after the 2013 season. Although it wasn't a surprise, the news is definitely sad. As a lifelong Broncos fan, Bowlen was the owner of the franchise during all of my fandom and that starts in 1985. There are good owners and bad owners in sports, and Bowlen was one of the great owners. Without Bowlen's vision and leadership, the Broncos would never have been so successful as a franchise. He is just as important as John Elway in making the Broncos one of the premiere franchises in the NFL. Bowlen always did what he could to keep the Broncos competitive and he was all about winning. He is responsible for providing me with all those great memories as a Broncos fan. I always used to say the Broncos are lucky to have someone like Bowlen as their owner. I think my favorite memory of Bowlen will always be when the Broncos won their first Super Bowl in January of 1998 over the Green Bay Packers, and Bowlen was finally awarded the Lombardi Trophy. He stood up there and said "This one's for John." He knew how important the Super Bowl was to Elway and he didn't want to take the spotlight away from him. That's the kind of owner he was. The best part was when Denver won Super Bowl 50 and Bowlen was not there because of his illness and Elway was presented with the Lombardi Trophy and said "This one's for Pat!" That was a fitting moment in Bowlen's legacy. Rest In Peace Pat Bowlen. The Broncos and their fans were lucky to have you as an owner, and you will never be forgotten.