won·der/ˈwəndər/

Noun:

A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. In other words, Tim Tebow

mastery [ˈmɑːstərɪ] n pl -teries 1. full command or understanding of a subject 2. outstanding skill; expertise 3. the power of command; control 4. victory or superiority
To put that differently, Peyton Manning

I deeply enjoy participating here in MHR. And I want to give kudos to all of the carefully considered, passionate, and thoughtful FanPosts and their authors in the midst of this fervor that is currently gripping Bronco Country. What an fascinating and exciting time to be a Bronco Fan.

Let me tell you a little story. This season I took my 9-year old son with me to the Bronco game at Qualcomm. My father accompanied us. The last time my Dad and I were together at Qualcomm we witnessed history as the Denver Broncos fdefeated the Green Bay Packers for our first franchise Super Bowl victory. My Dad grew up just outside Green Bay, and I grew up near Arapahoe and Quebec in SE Denver. It was the perfect storm of team-love and father-son rivalry, and probably the best single day I have ever spent with my father. 18 commemorative Super Bowl cups holding 16-ounces of beer each bear witness to the joys we experienced that day.

So I returned to Qualcomm with my son and Dad in tow, despite urgings to contrary by some Charger season-ticket-holder friends. "The language is rough for a 9-year old" they said. I should have listened. But I didn't, because one of the few people I really want my kids (I have 3 sons, but 2 of them are autistic and therefore not likely to enjoy a stadium experience) to learn about and look up to is our Tim Tebow.

The guys sitting behind us were a couple of just-after-college-age guys, one of whom was wearing a "F*ck the Broncos" shirt. Nice. They were raucous, and vocal, and practiced barely restrained vulgarity for the sake of my son, but overall were smiley, decent guys who really wanted the Chargers to win. You should have seen the look on their faces when Tebow (and Prater, whew!) brought our Broncos back from the brink and we stole one from the home team. Anywho, the overall point is that Tim Tebow instilled WONDER in my son, in me, in my Dad, and in about 60,000 other attendees that day. Not to mention the likely 1.2M watching on TV. And this was perhaps the 5th or 6th week IN A ROW he had done that. Last year was utterly, indubitably, outlandishly AMAZING. What a ridiculously fun team to watch!

Can we have wonder on our team? It is rare, but it happened and ... it CAN happen again.

****

Other memories I have of the Broncos are not so fond. Does anyone reading this recall the complete and utter torching we received from Peyton Manning and the Colts in consecutive Wild Card Rounds? Do you recall Shanahan modifying his entire drafting and team-building strategy simply to counter this one guru of the gridiron? If I recall correctly, the first time we met them we had Lenny Walls as one of our starting CB's. Holy dismemberment! The next year I think we broke the bank on some hotshot CB - was it Denard Walker? Someone else? It is all lost to the fog of war now as I only recall Brandon Stokely splitting the defense for a 47-yard TD - the 3rd TD in the FIRST QUARTER. Somewhat reminiscent of this year's loss to the Pat's, actually.

Elite players are rare. Peyton Manning is an elite player. Before Tebow burst on to the scene, you must recall the unbelievable impact that Manning has on the football psyche of the world. Barking out audibles at the line, pointing out coverages, quick-releasing bullets all over the field, always to open guys in full stride. He is epic, historic, and completely worthy of our respect and admiration. He might be a Bronco.

So, folks, how can we lose on this deal? Notwithstanding any opinions as to what we do with Tim Tebow, do you want WONDER or MASTERY playing QB for our Denver Broncos? I'll take either.