topscribe
01-02-2009, 01:00 AM
This has been copied from MileHighReport.com (http://www.milehighreport.com/) with the ongoing permission of
its site owner, TheSportsGuru (http://www.sbnation.com/users/TheSportsGuru). It is one of its many superlative essays that
bears repeating here:
This one will be for Pat!
http://assets.sbnation.com/profile_images/81951/cowher2_tiny.jpg by Broncoman (http://www.milehighreport.com/users/Broncoman) on Jan 1, 2009 6:50 PM MST (http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/1/1/706922/this-one-will-be-for-pat)
As I have sat here and enjoyed to listening to the debates, the anger, the anexity, and the general level of discourse between the fans regarding the state of the Broncos, I keep coming back to one thought, and that is Pat Bowlen deserves another Super Bowl. We all owe a lot to Pat Bowlen for the work he has done not only for the Denver Broncos, the fans and for the NFL and what he had to do this past week must of been one of the hardest things to have every done. I likened the press conference to watching your favorite pet get put down, something so brutal and harsh, but sometimes the only option.
I have had to fire people I considered friends, often for things beyond the control of either of us, and it is never an easy choice or process and it never is easy and it hurts on a personnel level that is hard to explain, unless you have been in the same boat. Pat had to fire a man who had worked for him for over 2 decades, had helped shape the Broncos into a championship team, been a close friend, and had given Pat some of the greatest moments in his life. And yet Pat did not fire Mike Shanahan for personnel reasons, he looked at the good of the Broncos and what direction the team needed to go and saw the team was not heading in a positive direction. And I really do believe Pat when he stated he thought Mike had been doing an outstanding job, I am sure he was, but when the team quits listening to the coach and the talent has dropped to such an abyssimal level on the defensive side, then it doesn't matter how good the game plan is or the coaching is. I am sure Mike was working hard, putting in the time and effort, but sometimes things are beyond your control, and that is when it is tough.
I look at many other owners in the NFL and thank god we have Pat Bowlen. Every NFL owner is a billionaire, and most billionaires along with massive bank accounts also have massive egos, egos that often get in the way of doing what is best for the team or the NFL, Pat has always put his ego in check and done what has been best for the Broncos and for the NFL. He has never tried to take the attention away from the coaches and players, in one sentence (This one is for John!) he was not only able to make everyone a John Elway fan, but a Denver Bronco fan at the same time, at least for a day. As much as Jerry Jones wants to win, I feel it is only to satisfy his bloated ego, not for players, coaches or fans. Pat Bowlen has put the Broncos first and foremost, and has known when to guide with a silent hand and when to exert his will when things were going off course.
For those of you too young to remember, but Pat Bowlen bought the Broncos from one of the worst owners we every had in Kaiser in 1984 and saved the team from bankruptcy. Hard to believe, but there was a time when the Broncos could have been bankrupt and possibly moving to a different city. And at the time there were fears in Denver that this outsider guy, who was seen as a Canadian (he was born in Wisconsin and went to college in Oklahoma), would move the team to Canada or somewhere else. It's hard to imagine, but Denver was seen as some dusty Cowtown that people from Texas flew into to go skiing, and not worthy of a NFL franchise, the only other major professional sports team was the Nuggets, and Denver had recently lost our NHL franchise (Colorado Rockies became the NJ Devils), the nation was in a recession and Denver was coming off the oil boom and heading into one. Lets put it this way, take a stroll down Larimer Square or Lodo in 1984 and you probably would of thought you were on skid row, it was a different time.
Pat not only kept his promise to keep the Broncos in Denver, but he made Denver a premier NFL franchise, he built tradition for a team that had little, he got a new stadium built (I am not a big fan of that one, but it is a nice stadium), and he has always promoted Denver players and coaches, he has been loyal to a fault, and he has helped guide the NFL into the premier sports league in the world. All of that time, Pat has managed to always look to make the Denver Broncos better, money has never been an option, he will accept trying new things, he is willing to sign risky guys and give them a chance, think how many millions of dollars Bowlen has given to guys like Henry, Carter, Gardner, Walker, Rice, and the likes, all with the hope that they could help make Denver better. He has been smart enough to allow the guys that he hired to do their jobs, he lets them fail or suceed, and looks at ways to support them. What else could you ask for in a boss.
Which brings us full circle, sometimes the hardest thing about being a boss is making the tough choice for what is in the best interest for the company. The easy choice for Pat would of been to allow Mike Shanahan another year, see what happens, he wouldn't have to face the heat from the press, fans, players about firing a two time Super Bowl coach. And he wouldn't have to face the heat if the next coach under performs. It is a huge risk, what happens if we hire someone and the Broncos go into the tank and Mike Shanahan lands somewhere and leads the team to a Super Bowl? And like I stated previously, this was a choice that had nothing to do with how good Mike Shanahan is as a coach or personnel differences between the two, they both want the same thing and that is a Super Bowl. It was a hard choice that very few of us will ever have to face. And Pat has been able to accept the challenge and look to do what is best for the organization at the risk of his friendship with Mike Shanahan, alienation of the fans, and being crucified in the media.
So my hope is regardless of who is the next coach is that wins a Super Bowl here, that when Denver gets it's next Super Bowl, that we all give Pat Bowlen the credit for what he has done for us, for the Broncos, for Denver and Colorado, and for the NFL. That we realize that he has had to make some of the hardest choices. This one will be for Pat.
This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR
Taken from http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/1/1/706922/this-one-will-be-for-pat
Be sure to visit our site at MileHighReport.com (http://www.milehighreport.com/) and read the great articles
and keep up with the Broncos news there.
-----
its site owner, TheSportsGuru (http://www.sbnation.com/users/TheSportsGuru). It is one of its many superlative essays that
bears repeating here:
This one will be for Pat!
http://assets.sbnation.com/profile_images/81951/cowher2_tiny.jpg by Broncoman (http://www.milehighreport.com/users/Broncoman) on Jan 1, 2009 6:50 PM MST (http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/1/1/706922/this-one-will-be-for-pat)
As I have sat here and enjoyed to listening to the debates, the anger, the anexity, and the general level of discourse between the fans regarding the state of the Broncos, I keep coming back to one thought, and that is Pat Bowlen deserves another Super Bowl. We all owe a lot to Pat Bowlen for the work he has done not only for the Denver Broncos, the fans and for the NFL and what he had to do this past week must of been one of the hardest things to have every done. I likened the press conference to watching your favorite pet get put down, something so brutal and harsh, but sometimes the only option.
I have had to fire people I considered friends, often for things beyond the control of either of us, and it is never an easy choice or process and it never is easy and it hurts on a personnel level that is hard to explain, unless you have been in the same boat. Pat had to fire a man who had worked for him for over 2 decades, had helped shape the Broncos into a championship team, been a close friend, and had given Pat some of the greatest moments in his life. And yet Pat did not fire Mike Shanahan for personnel reasons, he looked at the good of the Broncos and what direction the team needed to go and saw the team was not heading in a positive direction. And I really do believe Pat when he stated he thought Mike had been doing an outstanding job, I am sure he was, but when the team quits listening to the coach and the talent has dropped to such an abyssimal level on the defensive side, then it doesn't matter how good the game plan is or the coaching is. I am sure Mike was working hard, putting in the time and effort, but sometimes things are beyond your control, and that is when it is tough.
I look at many other owners in the NFL and thank god we have Pat Bowlen. Every NFL owner is a billionaire, and most billionaires along with massive bank accounts also have massive egos, egos that often get in the way of doing what is best for the team or the NFL, Pat has always put his ego in check and done what has been best for the Broncos and for the NFL. He has never tried to take the attention away from the coaches and players, in one sentence (This one is for John!) he was not only able to make everyone a John Elway fan, but a Denver Bronco fan at the same time, at least for a day. As much as Jerry Jones wants to win, I feel it is only to satisfy his bloated ego, not for players, coaches or fans. Pat Bowlen has put the Broncos first and foremost, and has known when to guide with a silent hand and when to exert his will when things were going off course.
For those of you too young to remember, but Pat Bowlen bought the Broncos from one of the worst owners we every had in Kaiser in 1984 and saved the team from bankruptcy. Hard to believe, but there was a time when the Broncos could have been bankrupt and possibly moving to a different city. And at the time there were fears in Denver that this outsider guy, who was seen as a Canadian (he was born in Wisconsin and went to college in Oklahoma), would move the team to Canada or somewhere else. It's hard to imagine, but Denver was seen as some dusty Cowtown that people from Texas flew into to go skiing, and not worthy of a NFL franchise, the only other major professional sports team was the Nuggets, and Denver had recently lost our NHL franchise (Colorado Rockies became the NJ Devils), the nation was in a recession and Denver was coming off the oil boom and heading into one. Lets put it this way, take a stroll down Larimer Square or Lodo in 1984 and you probably would of thought you were on skid row, it was a different time.
Pat not only kept his promise to keep the Broncos in Denver, but he made Denver a premier NFL franchise, he built tradition for a team that had little, he got a new stadium built (I am not a big fan of that one, but it is a nice stadium), and he has always promoted Denver players and coaches, he has been loyal to a fault, and he has helped guide the NFL into the premier sports league in the world. All of that time, Pat has managed to always look to make the Denver Broncos better, money has never been an option, he will accept trying new things, he is willing to sign risky guys and give them a chance, think how many millions of dollars Bowlen has given to guys like Henry, Carter, Gardner, Walker, Rice, and the likes, all with the hope that they could help make Denver better. He has been smart enough to allow the guys that he hired to do their jobs, he lets them fail or suceed, and looks at ways to support them. What else could you ask for in a boss.
Which brings us full circle, sometimes the hardest thing about being a boss is making the tough choice for what is in the best interest for the company. The easy choice for Pat would of been to allow Mike Shanahan another year, see what happens, he wouldn't have to face the heat from the press, fans, players about firing a two time Super Bowl coach. And he wouldn't have to face the heat if the next coach under performs. It is a huge risk, what happens if we hire someone and the Broncos go into the tank and Mike Shanahan lands somewhere and leads the team to a Super Bowl? And like I stated previously, this was a choice that had nothing to do with how good Mike Shanahan is as a coach or personnel differences between the two, they both want the same thing and that is a Super Bowl. It was a hard choice that very few of us will ever have to face. And Pat has been able to accept the challenge and look to do what is best for the organization at the risk of his friendship with Mike Shanahan, alienation of the fans, and being crucified in the media.
So my hope is regardless of who is the next coach is that wins a Super Bowl here, that when Denver gets it's next Super Bowl, that we all give Pat Bowlen the credit for what he has done for us, for the Broncos, for Denver and Colorado, and for the NFL. That we realize that he has had to make some of the hardest choices. This one will be for Pat.
This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR
Taken from http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/1/1/706922/this-one-will-be-for-pat
Be sure to visit our site at MileHighReport.com (http://www.milehighreport.com/) and read the great articles
and keep up with the Broncos news there.
-----