Denver Broncos: A Dream Or A Reality?

I have another new staff writer that I’d like to introduce. Jeremy Samora has followed the Broncos near and far. He’s a die-hard who even took his Broncos’ banner to Baghdad. In honor of Veteran’s Day, here’s a military man’s perspective.

Like a large number of Broncos fans, I was born and raised in Colorado.  Unlike most fans that live in Colorado, though, I grew up in a part of the state that didn’t receive many games during the early 80’s.  Living so far south, Alamosa to be exact, most of the games televised in my area came from a broadcast out of New Mexico, which mainly televised the Dallas Cowboys. 

Like any die-hard Broncos fan, I passionately followed the games, even when I could not watch them.  As some of the older fans can attest to in pre-internet times, if you wanted to get all things Broncos, it meant watching the stats rolling along the bottom of the current game being watched, or trying to tune in to a radio station covering our beloved team.  Now that the internet has made information so readily available, it is now much easier to follow the Broncos, and I still feverishly follow them every day.

I have been abroad with the military now for over ten years, moving from state to state, country to country, still following the Broncos.  I have taken our banner with me to each and every location I have ever worked.  I have been deployed to combat and missed entire seasons, left only to read what had happened days afterwards, but my dedication never wavered.  On my most recent deployment, the first year of the McDaniels’ era, I hung a Broncos banner in the window of my hut in downtown Baghdad.

Throughout all these years, one thing has remained certain – the Broncos are a team that brings excitement like no other. Like a rollercoaster that takes your breath at the first drop, so does opening kickoff before each and every game.

The Broncos team that we have now isn’t exactly a show stopper by any means, and given our last two performances, I wouldn’t be too optimistic for a quick turn-around if I were just any normal NFL fan. But I’m a Broncos fan and that is what sets us apart from the rest of the fans out there.  We believe in our team no matter what and trust in our players, even when our coaches are making questionable decisions.  I may be the only person who will say it openly but we all know it in our hearts – the drafts in the last couple of years have been tough.

Since Josh McDaniels has come to power, we haven’t improved at all as a team and we managed to alienate our stars (I don’t think Jay Cutler or Brandon Marshall really could have really produced due to the whiny attitudes, but Tony Scheffler certainly could have).   I won’t say that I don’t see potential in Knowshon Moreno, but we didn’t need another running back.  Peyton Hillis has proved that in Cleveland.  Given what I see as grave coaching errors, I wouldn’t be too optimistic – if I were just another fan, but I am a Broncos fan damn it and I expect GREAT things. 

I think after the bye week our team stands a great shot at solidifying themselves as playoff contenders.  We have a young offensive line that has showed that they can hold tight against good teams. Our defensive line is regaining its health, and is well on its way back to the same effectiveness that stopped the run so well earlier this season.  We have lost some big games this year, but only one to a divisional opponent; there is still a lot of football to be played.

The Broncos have always responded well to adversity.  The players believe in the system that McDaniels has implemented; they just need to put it together.  I will be just like every other Broncos fan this weekend, butt glued to my couch, eyes fixed on my big screen, and cold brew in my hand, as we take on the Chiefs.  I will break down the game and give you, the readers, a no-bull-outlook on where our season is headed.

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