I had all sorts of grand ideas about what I wanted to cover in Horse Tracks this morning, but they all paled in comparison to the gala celebration that was the Denver Broncos 2015 Super Bowl Ring Ceremony.
Every year you hear about how players just want to get that ring. In hockey, it's about the cup. In basketball, it's about... shoe contracts? In baseball, it's about 160 games too long (zing)! In football, sure, the trophy is nice, but what everyone wants is that ring. Sunday night in Denver, the Super Bowl Champion 2015 Denver Broncos got theirs.
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I remember when I saw the rings for Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII and thinking that they were the most amazing rings I'd ever seen. That was until I saw the ring that the 2015 Denver Broncos received Sunday night. Yes, even Vernon Davis got one of these amazing rings. He should feel no guilt whatsoever when he puts it on. None.
The Broncos and Jostens (a custom jewelry maker not to be confused with Joslins the long defunct Denver area department store), were quick to drop the rings stats on the public. How many carats, what the metals are within the ring, and what stones compose the horse's mane. What I was focused on was how Vernon Davis doesn't feel guilty about wearing this ring? Seriously! What I was focused on was how crisp the Broncos logo looks erected in jewels. The last two rings were a bit clunky when it came to the intricate lines of the logo, but this one nails it.
Take a moment and click through the gallery of past Super Bowl rings and you'll see that it's hard to argue that this ring is the best one yet. Find it here.
So what do the Broncos themselves think about the rings?
C.J. Anderson was at a loss for words.
"Everybody dreams of winning the Super Bowl growing up, but when it really happens and you really sit there, you're kind of speechless. I'm just going to enjoy this. Enjoy it, love it."
Peyton Manning compared the Broncos ring to the Colts one he received for winning Super Bowl XLI.
"It's very special. These don't go away. I pulled out my Indianapolis Colts ring tonight. Hadn't worn it in nine years. I wore it for about two weeks after we received our rings in the summer of 2007, and then I've had it in storage. So I pulled it out tonight. [The Broncos' ring] is more than twice the size."
Von Miller said the ring signifies so much about what the 2015 Denver Broncos stood for.
"I see a lot of stuff. I see my teammates. I see the struggle to get here. Eleven games won within seven points or less. Guys getting injured and guys stepping up. Guys writing us off and all the pregame speeches. Sitting on the sideline, wanting to get back in and make a play. I see the organization on here. The organization has done so much for all of us to put us in this position. It's a culmination of a lot of things. It's something that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life."
DeMarcus Ware's interpretation of what the ring means was a bit more on the literal side.
"I think this ring symbolizes winning the Super Bowl and being the champs, but also what the word team means everyone just coming together during the season and saying we have one standard and we have one goal, and that's being champions. This is the jewel that you get at the end."
The best quote of the evening came from Derek Wolfe. It's the best not for what he said, but for how he said it. Everyone else's quotes regarding the ring were given looking back at the season that was, but Wolfe's quote were rooted in the present.
"I think of just the hard work that it took to get to this point and all of the adversity that this team had to go through. It's been a long trip and a long road, and we just go through it."
It's that present tense that caught my attention. This ain't over. It's on-going. Considering the title defense the Broncos have coming up in 2016, that's exactly where the team's mindset should be.
HORSE TRACKS
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***Super Bowl Ring photo courtesy DenverBroncos.com***