There's always talk of a "Super Bowl hangover."
The theory goes that after winning a championship, players lose their desire to get it again. They think they don't have to work as hard as they did before. The drive may go away since they finally saw their dream come true.
Couple that with not having as much time to recuperate after a Super Bowl win, and it's easy to see how this could happen.
That's where leadership enters the mix - both from veteran players and the coaches.
The team that just won the Lombardi Trophy is not the same the next season. There are new guys in the mix who bring a different set of personality traits and skills. Some whom have never won a Super Bowl.
The leadership must show the newbies what it takes. But they also must revive the cravings and need in players who may suffer from that "hangover."
Back-to-back championships are incredibly difficult. That's why only eight teams have done it. Everything must go your way and fall into place, and you have to get a little lucky. In some media circles in Denver, luck is apparently a bad thing.
Kubiak's words to the team this morning, as relayed by @cjandersonb22: pic.twitter.com/eD8NSV9Zid
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) May 24, 2016
Enter Gary Kubiak. He's been there. He knows what it takes to repeat. He also knows how vital organized team activities are to the success of his football team - on and off the field.
The most crucial event on the first day of Phase III of the offseason program came before the Denver Broncos even took the field.
According to Andrew Mason with the team's website, Kubiak had a message for his team, as relayed by C.J. Anderson.
"That's the first thing we put on - that 2015 is over," Anderson said. "We're just going to move on. Kubes said (Monday) morning: We've got 42 new faces on this football team. Let's go give those 42 people the experience of trying to win a championship - what it takes and what it means to sacrifice things that you love to do to go win a championship.
"That was our goal last year, and that panned, and that's our goal this year."
What Kubiak did with the Broncos last season was special and one of the biggest accomplishments by a coach in NFL history.
To win a Super Bowl in his first season is rare enough. Only three other guys have done what Kubiak pulled: Don McCafferty with the Colts in 1970; George Seifert with the 49ers in 1989; Jon Gruden with the Buccaneers in 2002. Kubiak also joins Sean Payton and Tom Flores as the only former quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl as a head coach.
Kubiak is solidifying himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL. #Horsepower https://t.co/Op7AampmFz
— Ian St. Clair (@IanStClair) May 25, 2016
To do all of that with the team Kubiak played for is unprecedented.
In other words, Kubiak is already one of the best coaches in the NFL. The Broncos players trust him and know he'll put them in the best possible situation to have success. They also know he has one of the best coaching staffs who follow the same mold.
"Obviously, the leadership of our team has changed a little bit without 18 (Peyton Manning) around here," Kubiak told the media on Monday. "There is going to be some of that going on. It's going to be fun as a coach to watch that take place. Our work habits are really good. Our offseason has been tremendous.
"(Strength and conditioning coach) Luke (Richesson) has done a great job with them. Our attendance has been 99 percent. We'll get Von (Miller) here at some point. It's been really good and it showed (Monday). They worked really well."
When it comes to OTAs, hyperbole is the name of the game.
Early impression. Jeff heuerman is gonna be da man
— Darren McKee (@dmac1043) May 24, 2016
"It was the best practice in the history of the world."
"(So-and-so player) is the next big thing. Watch out for him."
Over the next month, keep a dose of skepticism regarding anything you hear about Denver (see the tweet above from Darren McKee). The Broncos aren't even in pads yet. As Kubiak said last year, this part of the season is about recollection. It's about creating the habits now that will make the team successful when the games start. It's about getting that drive back to become a champion.
You really want to go down in history? You want people to remember you? Become only the ninth team in history to repeat.
As we've all heard at this point, the odds of pulling off that feat are slim to none. As they were last season.
Good thing the Broncos have a coach who has proven he beats the odds and makes history.