13-3 Baby!!! (or more reasons to believe)

     In this long slow month with little going on in Broncoland, I thought I'd give us some more reasons to believe in 13-3.

1)Josh McDaniels

2)Mike Nolan

3)Brian Dawkins

4)Kyle Orton

5)Knowshon Moreno

6)Robert Ayers

7)Ryan Clady and the rest of the O-line

8)Peyton Hillis

9)Eddie Royal

10)Champ Bailey

11)Alphonso Smith

12)Free agent pick ups and the draft

13)New schema and excitement

Losses:

1)Mike Shanahan

2)Jay Cutler

3)Comfortable familiarity

Now before anyone complains --

     Realize, this is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek attempt to keep our mood light and carefree as we await the start of training camp, and more importantly, the start of the 2009 season.

     I know there are lots of players/coaches that deserve a place on the wins list.  However, in keeping with Mike Clark's La La Land mantra of 13-3 Baby!!!, I had to keep the list to 13.  I picked player who are either proven impact players (Bailey, Dawkins, Clady, Royal, etc.) or players who are being viewed as soon to be impact players.

     The listing of Shanahan and Cutler as losses is in no way intended to be a slight of either person in any way shape or form.  It is simply a recognition that we have experienced a loss of two players who are respected and beloved by a large segment of the Broncos fan base.  Their accomplishments and skill sets will be missed, no matter how much we believe the team has been improved during this off-season.

     The biggest loss, IMHO, is the loss of what I call comfortable familiarity.  We are missing faces we're used to seeing.  There has been a lot of confusion and angst over what is happening.  Change is never easy, but it can be survived and even enjoyed.

So here's 13 things you can do to pass the time until the start of the season:

1)Watch reruns of player interviews and pay attention to the excited looks on their faces.

2)Sit in the sun & imagine that you're sitting in the stadium cheering the Broncos on.

3)Chant "Only 76 Days" each day (be sure to reduce that number by one each day, or you'll get depressed).

4)Shop for your favorite player's jersey (but PLEASE do not get one of those awful mustard colored ones LOL)

5)Decorate the area around your TV with Broncos gear.

6)Write the date and time of each game on your calendar & circle the date with a red magic marker (unless you use a digital calendar -- computer monitors don't take well to magic marker).

7)Practice the Mile High Salute, in preparation to sharing it with our players each time we score.

8)Read and comment on at least one MHR post each day.

9)Design and practice a dance to celebrate each win.

10)Make a list of game day drinks and munchies, then go out and stock up on them.

11)Convert at least one person to Bronco fandom.

12)Memorize the roster so you can recite it on demand.

13)Remind yourself, at the most fundamental level, it is a game played for your entertainment, so applaud the efforts of each coach and player.

13-3 Baby!!!!!