Loyalty: Players v. Fans

Patrick Says...

Hello again! I promise, this post is not about the Broncos... I will say, a week after their win in the big game, I am still absolutely reeling. If you follow my posts, you may realize my in depth analysis of the quarterback situation was for none. Turns out it didn’t seem to matter much who the quarterback was. The Broncos suffocating defensive play throughout the playoffs was what ultimately led them to victory. At no time was the elite status of the defense more evident than during Superbowl 50. So congrats to the Broncos and to Peyton who will hopefully take this opportunity to go out on top.

Anyway, we have just finished NBA All-Star weekend and I figured it would be a good opportunity expand on the topic I last wrote about:  loyalty. As fans, many of us are deeply loyal to our teams. Through thick and thin, we stick by them. Any true fan has experienced immense pride in their team, and also bitter betrayal. Now what about the players, coaches, and owners?  We hear all the time from players who've been released or traded, “it’s just part of the business.” It's true, professional sports teams are driven by revenue and at the end of the day, they are part of the entertainment industry. However, it does not take away from the fact these are still humans playing a game at a very high, emotional level. So, I have to think loyalty, betrayal, and pride have a consistent place in sports. 

BIG NEWS: I now officially live in Chicago now!  I don't know about you, but when I think of Chicago sports, the first name that comes to mind is Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. If you'e not familiar, check out an earlier post by my D. Rose fan of a girlfriend, here. The short of it is, he was born and raised in Chicago, drafted with the number one overall pick by the Bulls, and won league MVP during his second season in the league. The man had it all until a number of injuries sidelined his career. As he struggles to get back on track trade rumors circulate here and there, though the credibility of these rumors are questionable.  Up until now the Bulls have stayed loyal to Rose and Rose loyal to his team.

My question in all of this is, is this actually loyalty from the Chicago Bulls to their hometown kid? Are they giving him every possible chance to regain his MVP form and lead the team to a title? Sticking by him through thick and thin?  Or is it all about the money?

Rose was the youngest player to be named MVP of the league at age 22. At 23, the Bulls signed him to a 5 year, $94 million contact. That same year, Rose tore his ACL during the playoffs which started his run of tragic injuries. The good news for Rose? He plays in the NBA and not in the NFL. Not to get into too much detail but NBA contracts are mostly guaranteed... the NFL’s, mostly not. We hear about it every year, players getting cut from NFL teams to make create cap room. So, if the contracts were set up in a way the Bulls could easily part ways with Rose, would they have taken that opportunity? Perhaps we will know when he is a free agent in 2017. My hope: the Bulls will resign him, albeit at much lower number than he saw when he was 23. I expect Rose would stay loyal, but with the trend we've seen in the NBA of players chasing rings no matter what team or city it’s for, you just never know.  It all started with the Celtics acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Piece and bring a title to Bean town. And of course, it continued with the more hyped, LeBron James storyline between Miami, where the championship was there for the taking, and Cleveland, his "beloved" hometown. Currently, the buzz is of Kevin Durant's aspirations in Golden State (yes…seriously).

Being a fan of small market teams, I would like this trend to go in the opposite way, though I understand the lure for all-star players to go to big market cities.  Now, I'm not saying I want leagues to control the outcome of trades and free agent signings, a la the Chris Paul trade veto a few years ago. At the end of the day, it would just be nice if players could show some loyalty to a team that took a chance to draft them and vice versa...a little loyalty to the players the team invested sometimes millions of dollars in.  Maybe D-Rose will set the stage for players to maintain allegiance to their roots, by resigning with the Bulls for the rest of his career. In a perfect world, they'd have a little success and the NBA's sense of devotion would be renewed. A guy can dream can't he?

Show Your Team Pride!

Patrick Says...

Tonight is the College Football National Championship, so I figured it would be an appropriate time to talk a little bit about college sports and the crazy pride that goes along with them. In the last post, I briefly mentioned team pride, more specifically the allegiance we have for certain schools and sports teams. These allegiances usually develop when we are young and stick with us through good times and bad. These allegiances can also come to us later in life, for example the college you choose to go to, or maybe a new career in a new city adjusts your pride. 

Something Shay has wanted to mention in the blog but hasn't had the chance, is the intense love she has for the University of Colorado Buffaloes.  I also have love for the Buffs, however our allegiances came from two different avenues. Hers was developed when she was young, but was cemented when she had the opportunity to attend the University of Colorado, which brought her pride to a whole new level. My story is a little different as I did not attend CU. When I was a kid the Buffs were good…I mean really good. We’re talking National Championship, Heisman winning, powerhouse good. Unfortunately, the program has taken a turn since the glory days, but there is no doubt my pride comes from growing up near Boulder and during that time. As my Dad used to tell me, root for the Buffs because they’re the only school in the state that will have a chance to win a championship. This might have been a subtle hit on CSU, but with how the conferences and the NCAA is set up, it had some truth to it. 

Now to be clear, my family wasn’t fanatical when I was growing up the way a lot of families are. I understood that families had traditions that go way back and generation after generation rooted for the same team. However, it wasn’t until I started dating Shay that I realized how deep the pride can go. The team I’m talking about here is not the Buffs, but The University of Notre Dame. At the beginning of our relationship Shay mentioned her family was from Indiana and that her Great Grandfather had run track for ND back in the day. Then, at a wedding her Aunt hinted at the intensity of the family's devotion, saying not long ago, the outcome of a Notre Dame football game dictated the mood of an entire day. It wasn’t until we were in her mother's hometown for Thanksgiving I realized how entrenched the whole family is and was able to develop a greater respect for this type of tradition. Over the next couple days, it was always a topic of conversation. Where was everybody going to watch the bowl game? Or what the Irish need to do differently, advice coming from every part of the family. Multiple shirts and hats worn from old to young, pictures of the family and Lou Holtz together on the wall. I left that weekend with a greater appreciation not only for the University, but for the way team pride can bring a family together. I think the unity is the most important factor. Sharing that experience with others.

Can you think of anything better then yelling at the TV with friends and family? Or have you ever called a friend the next day to see if he watched the game? I was watching a game the other day and sat next to a guy at a bar who had the same allegiance and we became instant friends. It's these experiences that build pride we pass down to the next generation.

Rocky Mountain Showdown // 2012

Anyway, back to the Buffs. If I don't have any cool family stories or deep tradition in the school, then where does my pride come from? I believe it goes back to the time period and the region that I grew up in. As I mentioned earlier, Colorado was quite good in the late 80s and early 90s. I remember watching Rashaan Salaam (the only Heisman winner from CU), Eric Bieniemy, and my favorite as a kid, Kordell Stewart. I also recall being enthralled watching Ralphie run onto the field before games. Shay is adamant and will tell anybody, there is no better mascot in all of sports than Ralphie. I would wear black and gold together all the time just because I thought the colors looked so cool. I imagine the same will be true tonight when kids from Alabama and South Carolina watch their home teams take the field. As a kid, what could be better then watching the hometown team compete at a national level? In the end, this is my hope for the University of Colorado...a return to prominence. I know it's an uphill battle since the Buffs recently moved to the PAC 12, one of the most competitive conferences in college sports. I, for one am not giving up hope as the past season showed spurts of movement in the right direction.  With quality wins against home state rival CSU and against division foe Oregon State. There were games that were so close and CU barely let them slip away. Big games too...against powerhouses Oregon, USC, and Arizona. The Buffs should have come out on top in every one of these games. As I look toward the future I can envision good things...a return to recruiting greatness Coach Bill McCartney had when he was building the great teams of the late 80s and early 90s. To paraphrase Coach Mac, there is no better place to play football than Boulder, Colorado.  He's right, it is a beautiful school, in a beautiful town...it's deserving of greatness.

When I picture my own future, I imagine my kids watching the Buffs and taking in the special moments the same way I did.  Building memories filled with pride, where the guys wearing Colorado across their chests come out victorious more times than not. We can share moments of yelling at the TV in joy, building a family tradition that will continue on down the line.

Shay, her freshman year at CU, in the student section.
She misses those days... tells me all the time. 

Shay graduated from The University of Colorado, Boulder in 2009
(She wouldn't like it if you did the math there)

I Wanna Be Like Mike ('96 Bulls Vs. '15 Warriors)

Patrick Says... 

If you know me or if you've read other, "Patrick Says..."  posts, then you'd probably be able to guess that I could write about the Broncos all day. While this is true, Shay and I decided we needed to broaden the horizons a little bit and talk about other teams and other sports in general. Most of my sports viewing nowadays consists of the NFL, however my first sports obsession was basketball. So for this post I decided to go back to my roots a bit.

As I was thinking about what to write over the past two weeks, I kept hearing about the Golden State Warriors and the streak they've been on to start the season:  24-0 out of the gates…impressive right? Extremely, however I've noticed I keep hoping they will lose. But why? Where is this desire coming from? After all I don't hate the Warriors. In fact, I enjoy watching them play, especially the level Steph Curry and his squad are performing at right now. 

The first thought I had was the Warriors have become a Goliath and I was looking for a David, an underdog to come knock them off.  I did a little reading on the psychology behind rooting for the underdog. Responses I found were varied but a majority of them pointed out, people want the world around them to be just and fair and this works its way into sports as well. I get it. I can understand the basic thought process behind backing an underdog. I mean think about the the greatness we've seen in sporting events like the 1980 "Miracle on Ice," where a group of college kids took down the mighty Soviet Union professionals, or the New York Giants beating the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Not to mention movies that have become pop-culture staples:  Rocky, Rudy, and of course my personal favorite, Space Jam. Alright maybe the last one is just me, but seriously. It's a good feeling to watch a team or individual go against all odds and manage to come out on top. It pulls on the heart strings, no? Still, I am not convinced any of this applies in my current situation. Honestly, when it comes to your average basketball game, I enjoy watching the best team win. I enjoy watching talented players come together and execute at a high level. 

So, if I wasn’t getting caught up in underdog hype, what else could it be? Finally, it hit me. I realized it was less to do with the current hot team's rise to greatness, and more do with the implications of their win streak prevailing. It is not about the Golden State Warriors of the present, it was about the Chicago Bulls of the past. As it stands, the Bull's hold the all-time record: 72-10. When I think about growing up during that time, the Bulls teams of the 1990s have an almost mythical status in my mind. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen... and yes, even Dennis Rodman were larger than life to me as a kid... hell, they're larger-than-life to me now. This Golden State team…well they just don’t give me the same feeling. Not to mention, a lot of the current NBA players are younger than I am…talk about a depressing realization. And let's not forget the most important factor of all: Not a single Warriors player has teamed up with the Looney Tunes to save the planet from a cartoon alien race. Again, I digress, but as a kid a major draw in my developing love of sports was the players. The idols... my first real heroes. I don't think I'm alone here. For me, that idolization became team pride, and when I got to college, more like allegiance... something I will get to in a later post.  

So is it generational? If the Warriors go on to break the record, will kids 20 years from now look at Steph Curry and Draymond Green the same way I look at MJ and Scottie? Perhaps, but truth-be-told, I can't picture it. I work in a school serving both middle and high school aged kids, and the sentiment just doesn't seem the same. I mean, even they know what that Bulls team did. To this day, Michael Jordan still holds a status of legendary proportion. Who knows, maybe Spike Lee was right, maybe it is the shoes, who doesn’t want to rock a new pair of J’s? Somehow I gotta believe there's more to it. There's genuine human recognition of greatness and the realization there will never be another player like Jordan or a team like the ’96 Bulls. So, as much as I respect the Warriors and the way they are playing, I hope they don’t break the record. I mean let’s be real, "I wanna be like Steph" just doesn't have the same ring as, “I wanna be like Mike.”

P.S.-During the process of writing this post, the Golden State Warriors lost their first game to the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving their record at 24-1. The ’96 Bulls through their first 25 games were 23-2. So, needless to say it’s going to be a close one…

NFL: Head v. Heart

Patrick Says...

Shay and I were talking the other night about the current state of the Denver Broncos and more specifically about the play of Brock Osweiler and the injury of Peyton Manning. This convo started with a report I saw declaring Brock the starter for the rest of the season, regardless of Peyton’s status and his presumed ability to play in the upcoming weeks. Just to be clear, this the only comparable report I've seen so who knows what will actually happen when Peyton returns to full strength.

I told Shay about what I had read and asked for her opinion. What she said basically amounted to, "If the Broncos organization were to do the 'right' thing, Peyton will return as the starter as soon as he's healthy enough to play." She reasoned, after all, it is Peyton Manning, the future first ballot hall of famer. Furthermore, in an earlier post we mentioned how we'd like to see Peyton end his career riding off into the sunset after a SuperBowl win, like in the movies. Shay argued, we've been given a rare opportunity to see what Brock can do and we know what to expect from him moving forward. She thinks it would be a smart move for the Broncos to re-sign him to a long-term deal and give him the reigns to the offense next year on his way to becoming the next great Denver quarterback.

Sounds good right? And I do think it's all possible. When Peyton is healthy he has the ability to play at a high level. Take the Green Bay game for example, it was arguably the best the Broncos have played this season and it came against an elite team nonetheless. Manning needs one…yes, one more win to break the all time record set by Brett Favre. I can see it now: A ceremony celebrating the milestone. Peyton takes a bow, while on the edge of tears. A game ball shipped off to Canton to be added to Peyton’s wing in the Hall-of-Fame.

It is definitely romantic. Honestly, I would love to see that happen, let's get that part straight.  But, I don’t think it will happen, and maybe at the end of the day it shouldn’t happen. Let’s get realistic, a football coach's job is to give the team the best chance to win. Personally, I think the best chance is with Brock. I know what some of you are thinking, Brock’s only started TWO games! True. Football is hugely about momentum and catching fire at the right time heading into the playoffs. Take the Giants past two SuperBowl runs for example. Also, I don't think it's so far fetched to say Brock is the better quarterback between him and Peyton right now. I mean Peyton is still leading the league in interceptions (by a large margin) even having missed the past two games. I think the team might be playing better as well. The running game is coming around, mostly due to the way Brock can run Kubiak’s “system.” So…the right thing to do? Perhaps not. What kind of coach benches his quarterback one win away from breaking a record? Maybe the same type of coach who benched Drew Bledsoe after an injury to play some dude named Tom Brady, the 199th pick in the 1999 draft. Disclaimer: I am not saying Brock is the next Tom Brady. Just sayin, the similarities are too obvious to ignore.

A major question that arises out of this debate is, 'Should players lose their jobs because of injury?' Unfortunately, the simple answer is, 'yes' they should and they do. This week on morning sports radio, this topic came up. It turns out, former Bronco tight end, Joel Dreessen was in a similar situation toward the end of his career. Battling knee injuries, he was forced to sit out and take some time to heal. During that time a relatively unknown tight end named Julius Thomas came in and stole the spotlight. So it happens almost every year, and on almost every team. The biggest surprise of the story? Joel was completely okay with this. He now recognizes that a major part of the job description of an NFL player is staying healthy. He wasn’t able to do that and the next guy up, took his spot because it gave the team the best chance to win. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about…winning. It might not be romantic and often not moral, but it's the reality of the NFL. So I think it's important for the Broncos not to worry about the name on the back of the jersey and realize this is the best way to bring another title to the Mile High City. 

Obviously, Shay and I are both die hard Denver Broncos fans. She tends to take a more sentimental view on the situation, as opposed to my realistic view. What we both want is to see the Broncos win, period. We look forward to seeing that today, as well as the first Sunday in February. Whoever the QB, let's go Broncos!

Peyton F'in Manning

Those of you who either know me, or have been reading for awhile now, know I am a loyal Denver Broncos fan despite my new home in Chicago.  For the past four years watching Peyton lead the team to more wins than losses, and countless exciting games, has been such an incredible joy. Of course I am frustrated we have yet to win a Superbowl during this era, but like the rest of the fans I keep thinking, "There is always next year."

Something I was talking to Patrick about a few nights ago, is how sad I will be if this season proves as dire as some are predicting for Peyton and the Broncos. I will be sad because I want a Superbowl win for my team, sad because I want a Superbowl win for Peyton, and sad because I want a Superbowl win for myself (;)). Mostly, though, I will be sad that Peyton won't get to go out on top. I want victory for him. I know his incredible legacy will live on, but anyone, including Peyton, would be straight up telling a fib, if not to admit that finishing a record breaking career with anything other than a Superbowl win would be good enough.

The conversation then, in true "Stuff Shayla Says" fashion, turned to the psychological components of all this: First-- I know, and you know, Peyton has thought about all of the above. Second, and more interestingly, if you ask me-- the issues plaguing him right now. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard a single conversation about the fact that a lot of the errors Manning has made in the past six games, are Mental not physical. He is over-throwing, under-throwing, not throwing at all (aka getting sacked). I'm not saying it's all mental, but to what I consider an alarming degree, it seems like he is in his own head.

Anyway, I have a million things to do this week... and my gem of a boyfriend is in town scoping out this glorious, albeit, freezing cold, city.  Therefore, I have enlisted him to talk a little more about the conversation we had because I found it quite interesting and I think you all will too:

Patrick Says...

Did you see that Cleveland game?! It felt like I was watching a rookie taking his first snaps in the NFL. The reads were questionable and the throws lacked muster. Having watched Peyton for more than a few years now, it's hard to watch this level of play, but knowing he's a Hall Of Fame caliber QB-- the General of the greatest offense in the history of the NFL, I cannot accept this as his fate.

Being the fan that I am, (and not to mention, having a girlfriend who overthinks everything there is to overthink), I have spent a lot of time analyzing the issues the Broncos are facing this season. I wonder, is the problem due to the loss of weapons: Julius Thomas and Wes Welker? Both were dominate mid-field in seasons past, and now the team is left with few options in this respect.  Maybe this lack is creating a situation where defenses can cheat toward deep threats, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. On the other hand, maybe the new offensive line is the problem. It has Peyton looking for rushers instead of looking downfield to make the correct decision. Or, as hard as it might be to admit, maybe the game has become too fast for our beloved Sheriff. I mean isn't slowing down inevitable for all NFL players eventually? Have the surgeries and blindside hits finally caught up to him?

The conversation Shay mentioned, brought up a very good point for me, however. I started talking about "the system" new Broncos head coach, Gary Kubiak has become famous for. Shay asked me to explain to her how the new offense works: Basically, it forces Peyton to line up under center and make his reads after the ball is snapped. This is a harsh contrast to what he is used to-- Rather than sitting back in the shotgun position and surveying the defense, pre-snap, now he's gotta know where he's going with the ball before it's even in his hands.

You can see the evidence of this in the questionable throws that Peyton made in the Browns game. Look here. Especially the throw he made in overtime. At the 3:15 mark in the video you'll notice it seems like Peyton throws the ball directly to the defender. To me, it looks like he's still trying to make the read pre-snap, instead of going through the progressions this new offense requires.


We will have to wait and see if Peyton can adapt to this new offense... and maybe at this point in his career it isn't  worth going through the growing pains, I don't know. As the season progresses I would imagine we'll see the offense revert to Peyton's comfort zone. After all it's what he's been doing  his entire career despite the criticism due to lack of success in the playoffs. If you ask me, it could work for us this year if we make it to the postseason, and the reason is simple. Defense. Peyton won't be forced to carry the team like he has in  the past. In my opinion, if defense keeps playing like they have so far this season and Peyton can find some kind of  rhythm, this could be a very special year for the Denver Broncos.