Wednesday July 23 commenced like any other morning for me. I get up, eat some strawberries, check Twitter to see if I had any new epic followers etc.
However, I noticed one of my followers who was a Broncos fan saying "Thank You Pat," and I immediately got a sick feeling in my stomach.
A swift Google search revealed that he is relinquishing his team ownership responsibilities and I, already obligated to fulfill a responsibility this morning in a venue where Internet is disallowed, was a nervous wreck and acted kind of frazzled at work.
Anyway, after I've powwowed with MHR's elite and knowledgeable Twitter folk, it is completely true that for better or worse, there is a plan for the future as the team was placed in a family trust several years ago.
With Joe Ellis calling the shots, like McGeorge, I'll admit I feel trepidation if, for nothing else, because Mr. Bowlen was always so stellar in the things he did, and is the impetus for my fanpost's title today.
Back in 1984 when Edmonton, Alberta-based Pat Bowlen, who had helped the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and CFL's Edmonton Eskimos build stadiums, the Broncos were a franchise that had four postseason appearances and one berth in the Super Bowl.
In his tenure, the Broncos have had 16 playoff appearances, six Super Bowl berths, two Super Bowl titles and only five losing seasons. As McGeorge astutely pointed out earlier Wednesday, only on two occasions have the Broncos drafted in the Top 10 in the Bowlen era.
In the respective seasons immediately after drafting in the Top 10, the Broncos went a combined 20-16, so the Broncos are never down for long.
Perhaps Bowlen's most successful season with the exception of the Super Bowl championship-winning seasons was 1987, a season shortened by the players' strike. Nevertheless, the Broncos still went 10-4-1, handling the scrub weeks better than other teams did and I remember the Broncos' 1987 NFL Yearbook done by NFL Films that season in which he said something to the effect of "I'm here to win." Thus, he didn't put up with any excuses and even after the debilitating Super Bowl losses to the Giants, Redskins and 49ers on the NFL's biggest stage, he remained positive, ensuring that Broncos Country have a product they can be proud of.
Now, we get to the part where he is my corporate world/"temporal world" hero. Despite amassing 300 wins more swiftly than any other owner, his overall record is 318-189-1 so roughly, he won just under 63 percent of his games, it has never been all about him, per his request.
In fact, the seminal moment in Broncos' history to this present day, the Super Bowl 32 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Mr. Bowlen says "this one's for John," while all of us know that it's up to management to make sure things go smoothly on the field. There are so many behind-the-scenes things that Bowlen addressed and assessed all those years.
Meanwhile, I pledge that I will give Mr. Ellis a shot here to impress me and if everything else remains intact, I like his chances.
In closing, Godspeed to the greatest owner in sports history who has shown me, by example, the way to conduct myself as a professional in the business world. Let's win this one for Mr. Bowlen in Glendale, Ariz. GO BRONCOS!!!