Carpe Diem: A Broncos Country Exhortation

While scrolling through Training Camp Twitter feed over the past couple of days, I ran across a heart-warming clip. As a lifelong, diehard Broncos Fan, you might think I’d run across old footage of Peyton’s 24-point comeback win against the Chargers on Monday Night Football, or perhaps an old GIF of Sir Ed McCaffrey stiff arming the very soul out of some poor defensive back, but no, it was something much less team-centric – something that strikes a chord in the heart of sports fans everywhere. The scene that stopped me on a dime was simple, pure, and profound. The setting was some sideline in Chicago, but the story was centered on a wiry, energetic little fella, sporting full game-day regalia – his head adorned with an authentic helmet so large he could have been mistaken for a gargantuan lollipop. Next in line for his turn at the autograph table, he froze, mouth agape, staring silently for a moment at his idol. It was a dream come true. Tripping over the words he’d probably been rehearsing for hours as he waited in the queue, the young man finally came to his senses and very deliberately eked out the simple but seemingly impossible phrase, “I’m your biggest fan!”

Maybe it’s because I’m a father, maybe it’s because I’m a grandfather, maybe it’s just because some part of that little human lollipop still lives in me, but that scene really struck me. Early on in my football fandom, I did what every fan does – I latched onto my chosen ‘Face-of-the-Franchise’ and went all in. Before I truly understood anything about the Xs and Os of the game I’ve come to love, I was able to recognize dominant play as well as anyone with an untrained eye, leading me to attach myself to the first transcendent athlete of my youth – Karl Mecklenburg, #77, of the Denver Broncos. While I’ve never had the opportunity to meet this fierce competitor, most of the early memories of my Denver Broncos involve sitting under the football tutelage of my super-fan grandmother while I scanned the field or sidelines for the legendary ‘Albino Rhino’. In time, my personal Pantheon of Broncos Legends would grow to include obvious additions the likes of John ‘The Duke’ Elway, Steve ‘The Smilin’ Assassin’ Atwater, Shannon Sharpe, Terrell Davis, Rod Smith, and ‘Easy’ Ed McCaffrey. From childhood to adulthood, these men became like a sort of family to me – we spent weekends, many evenings, and even the occasional holiday together. I celebrated when they celebrated, I mourned when they mourned, and I cringed when they got hit – just as I would have with any family member. They were with me during my Colorado childhood, they moved with me to 12 different states and across multiple continents, and they connected me to home during prolonged U.S. Navy deployments. They were family. And yet, somewhere in between Colorado and Bahrain, a cold realization set in.

I remember, well, the day I heard of Steve Atwater’s release and subsequent signing with the New York Jets. The dreaded and cold-hearted release. Of a genuine legend. A family member. A Hall of Famer. Upon signing with the New York Jets, the Los Angeles Times quoted the Broncos Legend as saying:

“The former team I played with, I think they felt like I couldn’t play anymore …. I’d like to show them and show the world that Steve Atwater can still play football.” (L.A. Times Archives)

He was crushed, and he deserved better. It was in that moment that the lollipop-headed uber-fan inside of me died the first of what would be many minor deaths. If this is what we do with a Legend, what hope does the longshot have of career-long loyalty from a team? The answer? None. I would love for this to be the kind of piece that offers hope of a return to a simpler time, but this will not be that kind of article. I long for it, and I truly mourn the loss of a time when a player and a team were so closely intertwined that neither would have dreamed of breaking those ties for fear of causing irreparable harm to the other. What, then, is the point of an article that points to such tragedy and offers no silver lining? Carpe Diem. Seize the Day.

While you’ll rarely read anything I’ve written that fails to appeal to a more eternal perspective, in this article – and specifically as it relates to this topic, be where your feet are. Right now, in this moment, your Denver Broncos are loaded at several key positions. There’s a bevy of young, superstar talent on every side of the ball, and we’ve been blessed with yet another elite, high character talent at the game’s most critical position (https://crossanchorreflections.wordpress.com/2022/04/02/emerging-from-the-shadows-an-historical-rationale-for-celebration-denver-broncos-edition/) – live in the now. Where will all of this talent be in three years? God alone knows. In this moment, however, whether you’re a Walton, a Penner, a GM, a coach, a player, a media member, or a fan, it’s time – time to pour yourself completely into ‘today’. Tomorrow will care for itself, but ‘today’, we have an opportunity to harken back to the days of our childhood fandom, to a simpler time when the joys of the game were enough to – at least momentarily – allay the concerns of our day-to-day. Let’s enjoy the ride, Broncos Country – we may not know what tomorrow brings, but by all accounts (except maybe one, and you know who you are) today is looking pretty strong, my Friends!         

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Gaps III