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Denver Broncos: Broncos Country owes a debt to the Bowlens

By Brad James

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 01: (L-R) Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman and John Elway present Annabel Bowlen with a ring at the induction of Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen into the Broncos' Ring of Fame during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 1, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 01: (L-R) Shannon Sharpe, Floyd Little, Gary Zimmerman and John Elway present Annabel Bowlen with a ring at the induction of Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen into the Broncos' Ring of Fame during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 1, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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While Alzheimer’s has stricken the Bowlens again, Denver Broncos fans should be thankful for all of the good times this family has provided…

Although Alzheimer’s sadly has impacted the Bowlen family again, their contributions to the NFL, city of Denver, and the Denver Broncos organization are beyond measure.

In 1984, when Pat Bowlen bought the Broncos from Edgar Kaiser, I was only two years old.

Therefore, all of my time in Broncos Country, as a fan, and now, journalist, he has been there.

When diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in July 2014, his wife, Annabel, led the team to a Super Bowl 50 title.

Thus, it was terrible to learn of her Alzheimer’s diagnosis Wednesday morning. There is much in this life that is not fair, both on the surface and in the details.

Broncos Country should savor the good times, of which there have been many.

When other fan bases call Broncos Country spoiled, their rationale is astutely put.

For instance, in Pat Bowlen’s tenure (1984-2014) the Broncos had seven Super Bowl appearances.

Additionally, they only had five losing seasons.

No matter how often I share this stat, it’s still amazing to me. In the NFL, especially in the salary cap era, this is absolutely insane.

With Annabel Bowlen running things, the Broncos have gone 38-24 (.594) and won one Super Bowl title.

Without this family, it’s virtually certain that the franchise would not have been this successful.

This past April, the Broncos had a successful collegiate draft as well. Broncos Country can give her the thumbs up for this, as she was in charge when it happened.

As to what happens next, it’s anyone’s guess. Perhaps the trust ownership stuff comes to naught.

Insomuch as I love these cloudless and hot June days, it’s important to remember their true worth. The same can be said for how this Broncos franchise has been run.

Broncos Country should not take these propitious times for granted. Twitter is full of vitriolic and angry fan bases not as fortunate.

Imagine how frustrating it must be to be an AFC East fan base that is not New England…

You keep hoping for something great to happen, but sadly, it never seems to.

Next: The top 30 Broncos players of all time

To an extent, the Broncos have given their fans the best of everything a fan base can have.

At any given time, Broncos fans have never had to worry about management embarrassing the community. Additionally, there have been three Super Bowl titles and a life’s worth of great memories for all.

Should things go south for this franchise, just always be thankful for the good times courtesy of the Bowlens.

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