being jake wood

I found this over at a friends blog and thought it was really clever.

I found this powerful story that brought me to the brink of tears.  I love to hear stories like this!

Denver Broncos coach, Mike Shanahan is fired.

I’m stunned.  

Shocked.  

What do you do when a winning coach of your favorite team is forcefully removed from his position?  Excuse me while I gather myself.  Tears, no… that’s just allergies.

I’ve been a die hard Bronco fan since the 1980′s (minus the confused year I defected to the 49′ers… I blame Dan Reeves for that).  And through all the disappointing years of going to the superbowl and losing, year in and year out, we  always had 2 superbowl rings that we could brag about.  Two superbowls that we won back to back, by the head coach dubbed, “the mastermind” Mike Shanahan.   Along with the two championships, Shanahan always seemed to keep us in the hunt for the playoffs with an overall winning record in the 14 years he led the Denver Broncos.  If anyone was going to coach for a team “forever”, it would be Mike.  So when I finally got word that Shanahan was fired yesterday, I was stunned.  After the initial shock, I’m left to question the future of the Denver Broncos.  And here is my opinion, as a die hard Denver Bronco fan.

Shanahan has been great for this team, and he has always been a great coach.  Everyone agrees on this.  Wherever he goes he will do great as long as he coaches.  However, Mike has not been the greatest General Manager.  Denver has always done poorly with our draft picks and our defensive staff has more turnover than a cheap hotel in New York City.  I don’t know how we got here, but we’re here.  And any good leader knows that it starts and ends with leadership.  So maybe this can turn into something good?  I don’t know.  Here is what I would love to see happen.

Marty Schottenheimer take the GM role and Bill Cower becomes head coach.  After Herm Edwards is fired (sorry Chiefs), we hire him as defensive coordinator.  After seeing what Parcells did with Miami, we can see how important an experienced guy as GM with connections can help turn around a team.  This would cost an absurd amount of money, but hey, it’s my dream!  And who wouldn’t want to play for such a great franchise?

Here is what will likely happen.  We’ll hire a GM from New England, a young coach that no one has really heard of and keep our current defensive coordinator.  With young players and a young coach, the Broncos will struggle for 3 years before falling apart.  John Elway then buys the franchise from Pat Bowlen and rehires Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiac as coaching “super” team.  Do you really want to know the rest?

In the end, I think this is a good move for both parties.  Sometimes you have to shake things up a little to light a fire under your team.  And as much as I like Shanny (and always will), football is a business and for the last several years business has been bad in Denver.  So here’s to one of the greatest coaches of all times, we love ya Shanny and wish you well.  Now can we please go back to the superbowl?

Why couldn’t God have made me a Patriots fan?  Why did he pump my veins with blue and orange?  Why does a team with so much potential end up the biggest disappointment?  These are the questions I grapple with every Sunday afternoon.  Why, you ask?  Because I’m a Denver Bronco fan.  And apparently Bronco fans have to endure a roller coaster of emotions that never end.  They build you up…. to bring you down.  It was like this in the eighties and it will be like this in the future.  And yet we love our Denver Donkey’s.  It’s a blessing and a curse (obscure MONK reference #1).

Today we visited Marty and Fern’s church with the whole family.  The kids gathered around their grandpa and sang a song together on stage after the offering.  It was beautiful.  After the church service which was themed around “The Good News”, I was ready to hear some good news from Oakland about my Broncos.  We all arrived home on a cold and wet day, filling our stomachs with homemade chili and garlic cheese bread (the perfect combination to accompany an easy win against the Oakland Raiders).  Since I’m in Oregon and without my NFL ticket, we were forced to watch the Cardinals / Cleveland game and the Giants / Bears game.  Both end up being great games, so it wasn’t that bad.  But because there was no Bronco game being broadcast, I was forced to watch and wait with ESPN.com.  After news of the 4th Bronco turnover came across my screen,  I began recalling early days of painting my face orange and blue only to wash it all off with tears of sorrow.  Another Denver lose.  Why do I torture myself like this?  Can’t I just walk into a Sunday afternoon game expecting the Broncos to lose so the pain wouldn’t be as bad?  But alas, by Saturday of this next week I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat, face paint in hand hoping that, “this will be the turnaround week”.  

It’s a vicious cycle.  

So tomorrow I’ll scour the internet for any and all news on my beloved Broncos.  I’ll agree with the “haters” and love on the “disillusioned”, for this is the life of a Denver Bronco fan.  For better or for worse, we’re here to stay.  So strap on your orange and blue barrel, because we’re not going anywhere.