Why the Swagger?

And I say, with all my heart--be unhappy if you want to be. Some can't live without controversy. It gives you something to talk about. In large part the MHR community was berthed in war time. It knows how to play the game when there is something to gripe about, but knows not how to appreciate a juggernaut when it exists right before their eyes. I've been a member here since about 2011. That dates back to MHR...D.T. (during Tebow). My very first post was a transcription of John Fox's words and trying to make sense of why the man would stick with Kyle Orton when he had a perfectly inadequate QB on the bench waiting for his opportunity. Timmy was the shiny new toy everyone was waiting to unwrap and play with. We knew what we had in Kyle Orton, and much like his counterpart moviestar Keanu Reeves, we weren't really expecting an Oscar-worthy performance.

TEBOW TEBOW TEBOW....we shouted.

We shouted his name and proclaimed him the next great Broncos QB even though his play quite frankly was something only a father could love. Then that evil John Elway (who only wrote the book on being a Broncos QB) had the gall to ship our your goldenboy out of town instead of giving him the opportunity to learn behind a GOAT. We/you cried "Shenanigans!!!" surely he's better than Caleb Hanie!

Going back before this it was Shanahan and McDaniels and the whole heap of mess that brought up. Rather than rehash it, I'll hope my mention of McDaniels pulls McGeorge out from the shadows so he can (for the millionth time) proclaim how he laid waste to all the McJedi lovers and made MHR a better and safer place to be.

Before that it would take the benching of the well loved and admired Jake Plummer--you know, the same Jake Plummer that told an entire stadium of Broncos fans to go eff themselves on national TV, the same guy that crapped his pants against the Steelers in the AFC Championship game, the same guy who was made to look like he belonged because of the genius scheming of one Mike Shanahan, in favor for some young punk from Vanderbilt that would go on to bitch his way out of town a few years later.

This team post 98' has been one long running soap opera, and MHR has been more than happy to play the role of a bon bon eating housewife with nothing better to do than perpetuate the dysfunction.

Before some long standing member gets offended and makes a fanpost or sends an email telling me I'm out of line or the current staff they're no good compared to the golden days of perpetual whining and complaining, I'll save you the time by saying I don't really care what you think in this case, you're part of the problem.

Why the swagger?

Because it's time for us to accept it. Broncos fans more than any other fan base are conditioned to be the underdogs. We survived in the face of downright terrible-ness through the 60's. We survived loss, after loss, after EMBARRASSING loss in super bowl after super bowl. The Duke himself is known for his great come from behind wins. Tebow endeared himself to so many for the same reason. To come from behind is more exciting, just ask the whiny group of fans from last year that said things like "yeah we're winning, but 2011 was more exciting". You make me want to puke.

To come from behind also means you didn't have the ability to impose your will on the other team. If you did, you wouldn't need to come from behind to win. You would score 35-points in a half to effectively put the daggar in your division rival like we did the Chargers--and that was way back in week 6. It means you reduce one of the most potent offenses in the Saints to absolute ineptitude on national television. It means that after the worst performance of the season, marred by terrible officiating, untimely turnovers, and unfortunate mishaps that you're still 7 up with 42 seconds to play in a playoff game that was much closer than it should have been.

Don't even get me started on the Ratbirds. Some of you can give credit to a team out of a misplaced sense of values. They had no business making it out of Mile High, and they will be exposed for the frauds that they are in 2013 starting with Joe "cash money" Flacco and ending with Elvis "fax machine" Dumervil.

Why the swagger?

Because that underdog mentality has bread a weak and defeatist attitude that proclaims "we're fortunate". You know what fortune is? It's luck. It's the two outer on the river when you got your money in bad against an overpair, it's the lazy resignation to let the external world control your fate, it's the Hail Mary that allowed Ray Lewis to retire a champion.

It's easy to be humble and respectful when no one expects something out of you. And just like dogs we were all too eager to receive the gentle pats of our master called fortune.

It's much harder when there's a giant target on your chest and other teams and fanbases loathe you because the attention your talent is getting is somehow a slap in the face of their inferior team. Yes I said it. All the other 31 teams in the NFL are inferior to our Broncos including the so called "Champion" Ray-Ray.

Why the swagger?

Because this team, top to bottom, is better than any team I can remember in Broncos history. That includes the super bowl teams. People forget just how big an underdog we were in 97. We didn't even win our division. We struggled against other playoff caliber teams losing to the likes of Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Kansas City. We were 13.5 underdogs going into that first win. The following season was a bit different, we had some new FA looking to get a ring, we proceeded to put our foot on the throats of the first 13 opponents we faced, winning in blowout after blowout. This is the sort of talent the 2013 Broncos possess.

We have a HOF QB looking to exercise the demons of playoff past. We have a mix of vets looking and young talent that has pushed the depth on the roster to such a high level that some of the biggest battles we will pay attention to come TC are the 3rd/4th TE, the 4th/5th WR, the backup O-line, and the 4th/5th cornerbacks.

We are the favorites because no other team can field the talent we will, not even those darling 49ers or those overrated Ratbirds. We're the only show in town. It's super bowl or bust. The faster you embrace that fact, the easier it will be for you to enjoy it. I know the news today will put the doubt back in some, but not even a Von Miller suspension to begin the season is enough to derail this super bowl train.

The NFL is set up to be a league of parody whereby last years trash can become this years treasure. Not in 2013. We are the shining beacon that towers above all. We are the team that WILL claim our rightful place as champions in February.

You want to know why the swagger?

Because we're the best. Bottom line.

So don't come in here with expectations that Bronco Mike will tell you what you want to hear. I won't. Between the analysis of the game and film study week to week, you can count on one thing from me--brutal honesty. If you're the fan of another team, I'm going to tell you flat out you don't belong because you don't. You're not going to get a "well done" or a "good game" from me because that would be insincere. Should the stars align and you walk out with a victory, I'm not going to pat you on the back because you don't deserve it. You don't belong PERIOD.

2013 is our time, 2013 is our year--simple as that.

How's that for rah rah you snooty pedantic minded hopletrons?