About two or three years ago, I read an excellent book: '77 by Terri Frei. It chronicles the season of the 1977 Denver Broncos, who that year became the first team in franchise history to make the Super Bowl. The book discussed the city's reaction to the Broncos and other non-football happenings around Denver at the time. It's a pretty good book if you're into that sort of thing, and made me wonder - what would it have been like to have been around at the time, to feel the buzz and the excitement? I was only two at the time, so yeah - no memories.
I sort of experienced it in the 1980s as the Broncos appeared in three Super Bowls from 1986-1989, although experiencing it in the SLV where most people didn't like the Broncos or were fair-weather fans wasn't quite the same.
When the Broncos won the Super Bowl following the 1997 and 1998 seasons, I lived in Idaho and Utah, respectively.
When I moved back to Colorado five years ago, I was hoping to be able to have some good fan experiences. However, I arrived just as they were running Jake Plummer out of town and just before Darrent Williams was murdered. What I got to experience was the twilight of Mike Shanahan's tenure in Denver, Jay Cutler's pouty face, and Josh McDaniels. So I've been feeling a little cheated that I moved here just in time to experience the dark years of Broncos history.
And then I realized recently - history is happening RIGHT NOW! This string of improbable come-from-behind wins is unprecedented. This is like MY 1977 and it is happening as I type.
Granted, this team probably isn't going to the Super Bowl. But then, I didn't think they were even going to make the playoffs this year. But here we are, with three games to go, sitting in first place in the AFC West. Nothing has been clinched yet, but the ride has definitely been fun.
It remains to be seen how this season winds up, but maybe someday a book will be written about 2011.
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