Denver Broncos: A Pat Bowlen Led Hall of Fame Legacy
It is a culture of winning that made Pat Bowlen that made the Denver Broncos owner an instant Hall of Famer. He is now a finalist as a contributor.
The Denver Broncos have a rich tradition and culture cultivated by none other than owner Pat Bowlen.
Bowlen created a winning culture and a trickle-down effect on management, players, and coaches.
The infectious nature for Bowlen is easy to understand based on his demeanor. It’s this genuine and calm behavior that made him beloved by his colleagues. He was a personal favorite of many people.
To see him finally reach the Hall of Fame is bittersweet and rewarding at the same time. Also, it’s not a surprise due to the winning culture he’s established with the Denver Broncos.
To first understand this ‘never take a loss’ attitude, we look at the amount of losing seasons under Pat Bowlen.
Since Bowlen purchased the team in 1984, the franchise has the fewest losing seasons of any NFL franchise (six).
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots are tied with seven.
Houston and Green Bay Packers have eight.
In the AFC West, it’s no question who is the most consistent winning team within the division.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers are both tied at seven division titles apiece since 1984, while Oakland Raiders stand at five.
Bowlen’s Broncos represent a staggering 13 division titles during his tenure.
We cannot speak about winning without the championships.
The Denver Broncos stand second in Super Bowl appearances behind the Patriots with seven.
As for winning the whole enchilada and hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, the Broncos are tied in the division with three Super Bowl victories (Raiders). The Chiefs and Chargers still are searching for their first Super Bowl win.
In every category, the Bowlen-led Broncos franchise is ranked ahead of all the other teams in the division. The Broncos lead in regular season divisional wins (146), regular season wins (318), fewest losing seasons (6), playoff appearances (18), playoff games (36), and conference championship games (9).
Bowlen’s legacy of winning ranks near the top of every active owner, in every major sport. He is tied with Robert Kraft (Patriots owner) for most winning seasons at 21.
Speaking of Kraft and Bowlen, Bowlen is nipping at Kraft’s heels in conference championships.
Kraft is first with nine and Bowlen has seven. Bowlen is even second behind Kraft in playoff wins with 21. Not to be outdone, Bowlen stands alone by a wide margin regarding regular season victories among active owners.
The 327 victories places him first ahead of Tom Benson (New Orleans Saints owner). As for Super Bowl wins, the Denver Broncos owner is tied with current Hall of Famer Jerry Jones at three Super Bowl wins.
This particular exposure with winning crosses into television.
The Denver Broncos appeared in 344 televised games. Here’s a breakdown of all 344 games. There were 144 national doubleheaders, 58 Monday Night games, 49 Sunday night games, 36 postseason games, 28 preseason games, 25 Thursday/Saturday games, and four Thanksgiving games.
When Pat Bowlen’s franchise was winning as many games as they did, the NFL rewarded them by airing their games to their biggest audience.
Next. The top 30 Broncos players of all-time. dark
This is a mark of respect.
It is this tradition of winning that makes the case for Bowlen to be a Hall of Famer.
This is a move that should have happened sooner, but Bowlen is progressing toward being enshrined into Pro Football royalty and it will feel so good to say that Bowlen is officially a Hall of Famer in the near future.