2015 Sportsperson of the Year nominations open

Though Pat Bowlen, the inaugural Sportsperson of the Year winner in 2014, will be a tough act to follow, there are so  many players, coaches and executives deserving of this honor.

And now you get to nominate them for the 2015 award.

Since our goals with the Mile High Report Hall of Fame included recognizing community service and sportsmanship - in addition to football performance and/or knowledge - as key components for representing the best of BroncosCountry, we created this separate category to highlight someone whose contributions on and off the field exceeded those of others.

Unlike the other categories, current players and those associated with the Broncos would be eligible. Also unlike other categories, a person can be named Sportsperson of the Year more than once. For a full rundown of the rules and process, see our overview from last week.

So today we begin the process of identifying our second Sportsperson of the Year (and in case you haven't yet voted for the other categories, you can nominate members here, former authors here and your favorite Broncos here).

Sportsperson of the Year

The MHR Sportsperson of the Year inductee is a special award given to one former or active player, coach, or difference-maker to the Denver Broncos Football Club that year.

The award is given to an active or former Broncos "Player" for outstanding sportsmanship, noteworthiness, football contributions, and community service within that year - a football figure who we, as fans, are most proud to say represented the orange and blue over the past calendar year. The top four candidates here will be voted on by the community beginning July 10.

Important note: Former Broncos are eligible. Rahim Moore, for example, did a lot for the Denver community while a Bronco (and was a finalist for this award last year). Just because a person is no longer with the team as of the past three months doesn't mean he/she cannot be considered for this award. Nominations should consider activities occurring during the 2014-15 season.

How to nominate

Leave a comment naming the one person you would nominate for this award plus a brief explanation why he/she is deserving.

You can nominate a Sportsperson of the Year in one of three ways:

• Write, "I nominate [Sportsperson name]" in the subject line and then write your reasoning behind it in the body of your comment.
• Write nomination in the subject line then work on the body of your nomination as a reply to your original comment.
• Create a Fanpost, which is highly encouraged to get even more eyes behind your reasoning for a candidate and give him or her more visibility and support. Then write a comment to your nomination linking to your fanpost.

Example nomination:

Comment subject: I nominate Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann.

Comment body (optional): She dresses her kids in Broncos jerseys every day for school, owns seven different Broncos hats and once told Shannon Sharpe she loved him.

How to support a nomination

Support a MHR Hall of Fame nomination by recommending (rec'ing) the comment. You can also reply to a nomination to add more content to it. These will be compiled and included in the next phase - voting.

To help a candidate become a finalist, it is best not to nominate him/her more than once since it could split the recs. Also, only nominate one person per comment so others can rec one at a time.

How nominees advance

The top four candidates with the most recs (minimum 4 recs) will advance to the next phase - fan voting - to begin Friday, July 10. Nominations close Monday, July 6 at 6 p.m.

Thank you for helping us tell the tale of Broncos history from the fans' point of view!