2000s the Second Worst Decade in Broncos History?

These are the sorts of posts that happen when boredom meets depression meets reflection meets nostalgia.

The Raider loss obviously left a very sour taste in my mouth. I am convinced the Broncos will again miss the playoffs, which continues this decade’s trend of fast starts and painful endings. That’s the depression. Then I was sitting around bored (awaiting the next snowstorm here in the Mile High City) and reflecting on this past decade. Because we’ve had no new great memories since 1998, I’ve been pining for the glory days and becoming more and more bitter as my waist line widens and the Broncos tease my heart with their yearly cardiac roller coaster.

Anyway, it got me thinking about where the 2000s rate in terms of Broncos history (I guess all this 50 year anniversary marketing is finally getting to me too). In my heart it feels like the worse decade in Broncos history. I am almost 30 (born in 1980) and grew up when John Elway made the Broncos one of the great franchises for the better part of two decades. But after crunching some numbers and forcing myself to remember that life existed before I did and that the 1970s and 1960s should also count, here is what I came up with.

Obviously the 1960s was the worst decade.  We played 140 games and only won 39, that means we won 27 percent of our games and didn’t so much as sniff the playoffs.

Obviously the best decade was the 1990s. We won two Super Bowls and appeared in the playoffs three other times. In 1991 we got as far as the AFC Championship game. We won 58 percent of our games and experienced three losing seasons.  But is it obviously the best?

The 1980s are close and only play Robin to the 1990s Batman because of the Super Bowl wins. But in this decade we won 61 percent of our games, made two playoff appearances without getting past the first round and made the Super Bowl three times. Obviously we got spanked in those Super Bowls, so that actually brings a lot of pain to an otherwise very successful decade.

It gets interesting when you want to rank which is the second worse decade for the Broncos.

The 1970s started off rough because we continued our ways from the 1960s into the early part of the decade. But we finished off strong. We won 52 percent of our games overall and made three playoff appearances the final three years, which includes that notorious 1977 team that made it to the Super Bowl. Based on how the decade started and ended, I would say that this decade turned out pretty well: we did make it to the Super Bowl and had one of the most colorful and storied defenses in the history of the NFL. 

That brings us to the not-yet-completed 2000s. But, as I said at the beginning, I have no faith in the rest of the year/decade/whatever and am looking toward next year and next decade. This decade we made four playoff appearances, three of which ended in wildcard blowouts and one ended in a blowout against Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game. Of course, 2005 ended very painfully because we ended up with home field for that game and came out flat – something that became an annoying trend in the 2000s. To me, winning 58 percent of our games is moot and only intensifies the pain we experienced this decade. Another point is that Bronco mania took a huge hit (something that was born, lived and thrived in the 1970s). Home games aren’t the same at Corporate Field at Cop Out Attempt to Keep Mile High in the Name stadium. Home field advantage seems to no longer exist, and –  as recent games against the Steelers show –  more and more non-Broncos fans are infesting our corporately named home.  

In the 1970s the expectations weren’t what they were in the 2000s, so that matters in terms of how we perceive success. And, granted I wasn’t around in the 1970s, I believe the 2000s is worse because of how many times we got blown out and lost big games when it mattered most. Many of those “playoff” teams were complete frauds, or at least as overmatched as the final scores indicate.

I hope I am wrong and I hope there is time in this season to redeem what has been, in my opinion, the second worse decade in Broncos history. Furthermore, I know this sounds a bit spoiled because I am sure A LOT of franchises would love to boast these accomplishments and would LOVE to complain about what we’ve experienced in the 2000s – San Diego comes to mind because up until the last five or so years they’ve essentially been the 1960s Broncos with some small glimpses of what we accomplished in the 1970s. Suck it dolts!

Feel free to bring any angle to this discussion you would like. This is an opportunity to talk about this decade and how it compares to the other four in our history. I would also love to read any ideas favoring the 1980s to the 1990s.

Here is a brief history I looked at when crunching these numbers and making my conclusions.

Cheers

~vince