Thank you, John Elway.
My thanks are surely not good enough, but they come from the bottom of my heart. As a diehard, and I mean diehard Denver Broncos fan, there are few things in the entire world that I look forward to more than watching the team play on Sundays.
And for me, and hopefully a large chunk of Broncos Country, the enjoyment we have received from the team is largely thanks to Mr. Elway.
To the man who has been with the Broncos since the 80s, who turned the franchise around from irrelevance to superiority, who has been an integral part of all three of the team’s Super Bowl championships, and who has provided a steady leadership presence for decades…
Thank you.
Thank you for the immense enjoyment I received early into my Broncos fandom after we upset the Steelers in the playoffs. The next day, I put masking tape over my Brandon Marshall Broncos jersey and wrote ‘Tebow,’ to the chagrin of my fellow middle-school classmates and teachers. Oh, I forgot to mention, I live in Pittsburgh.
Thank you for the greatest free agent signing of all time in Peyton Manning. Four of the most enjoyable and prolific years for any franchise in NFL history was largely, no, almost all due to Elway luring Peyton to Denver.
Thank you for allowing Broncos Country to enjoy two Super Bowl appearances in three years. Thank you for signing T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib, and DeMarcus Ware who helped us in the years after Super Bowl 48.
Thank you for constructing the single greatest defense in NFL history, and thank you for helping bring a third championship to the Mile High City.
Through all the negative of John Elway’s General Manager tenure, there was much more positive. We got to see Peyton smash records in orange and blue. We got to see a plethora of comebacks, last-second field goals, and overtime victories.
I understand that Broncos Country was tough on John Elway, and you know what, he deserved it at times. Drafting that quarterback out of Memphis was a mistake, it happens.
But since that mistake, the Broncos and John Elway have helped bring us talented cornerstone players like Justin Simmons, Bradley Chubb, and Courtland Sutton.
John Elway provided consistency and stability to the Denver Broncos. He said all the right things and was not afraid to speak his mind.
His professionalism in the front office helped maintain the strong foundation the Broncos have around the league as being a respected franchise.
His willingness to admit mistakes and move on from them was admirable as well. Everything from a poor coaching hire to a poor draft pick or free agent signing, John Elway was not afraid to move on.
Elway also provided a sense of competitiveness that few, if any General Managers could replicate.
Towards the end of his tenure as GM, the Broncos began to turn their drafts around and began to draft some absolute studs that will surely be with the team for years to come.
We should be thankful that he drafted Justin Simmons, Will Parks, Garett ‘All-Pro’ Bolles, Cortland Sutton, Bradley Chubb, Dalton Risner, Noah Fant, Jerry Jeudy, and yes, maybe even Drew Lock.
And, on his way out the door, Elway and the Broncos hired an absolute stud of an executive in George Paton. No, John Elway did not take the easy way out; he and the front office got together to make a solid hire to begin a new era in Broncos Country.
As John Elway slowly fades away from being involved with the team daily, let’s cherish the positives we got to experience in Broncos Country during his tenure, as there are many.
Denver Broncos: 2021 free agents with connections to watch for
The Denver Broncos could load up their roster for the 2021 season with smart signings that have coaching connections in Denver already.
Thank you, John Elway.