There are four types of fans out there. First, there are fans like me who love the Broncos win, lose, or tie, for better or for worse. Second, there are fans who hate the Broncos for whatever reason, and this goes beyond just the fans of other AFC West teams. Third, there are the fans who cheer for another team and have a little bit of liking for the Broncos. Finally, there are the fair weather, bandwagon-jumping fans.
Fan types two, three, and four are sure running their mouths a lot after the Broncos were shutdown yesterday by the Baltimore Ravens. Here’s some personal advice: when you are upset about your team losing, don’t go read the nincompoopery that “fans” write in the comments section on nfl.com because you will be exposing yourself to content created by fans from all over the spectrum (including Broncos fans) whose IQs are lower than the combined score of a Redskins-Rams game.
The haters and the casual/indifferent Bronco fans are just having a field day with this 30-7 loss. Many haters are foaming at the mouth about how overrated Denver is. All of their wins against good teams this year came when those teams weren’t clicking. Why in the world do the Patriots, Cowboys, Bengals, and Chargers all get a free pass to not click? When Denver loses one game–their first one, not to mention–these haters start jacking their jaws about how Denver is finished. Any NFL team is beatable, and any NFL team can be tough to beat. The Eagles lost to the Raiders a couple weeks back, for crying out loud!
The fair weather fans, on the other hand, are so sad. They were riding the high of a 6 and 0 start, and this loss was a big letdown. To them, everything they thought to be true of the Broncos turned out just to be an illusion. The defense folded in the second half. Special teams coverage showed that they have some major problems. Orton did not make any big plays under pressure. No one stepped up to make a big play on either side of the ball. This is the beginning of the end to a fair weather fan. Another collapse is imminent.
However, this is just one game.
photo from nfl.com
I can’t speak for all of the devoted Broncos fans, but here is how I feel about it. There are no excuses for why we lost the game. We were outdone yesterday. Plain and simple. Baltimore deserves respect. As far as this being a game where the Broncos were “exposed,” no one can know that for sure. No one can guaruntee what will happen this week, what adjustments will be made, what kind of a chip will grow on the team’s collective shoulder, etc.
Besides, Denver can’t really win in anyone’s eyes except for those of the true, dedicated fans. If the Broncos would have won yesterday, the haters and the media would still be talking about how they are the worst undefeated team in the history of the NFL. However, no one goes 6 and 0 by mere fluke.
The real fluke is that any of these haters are intelligent enough to have a job that would allow them to afford to a computer, intelligent enough to set up an internet connection, and intelligent enough to type out a bunch of mispelled rubbish in the comments section.
Back to the Broncos. Some of our fans have lofty expectations (Haters, lofty means high. I thought I would save you a trip to the dictionary). I see people writing, “We can still go 18-1″ for instance. Look, this may make me unpopular to many of my fellow Broncos fans, but a Super Bowl trophy is not part of my expectations this year. I am not saying that it is impossible, but I think we have a ways to go. Still, the progress could take place rapidly.
For me, a 12-4 season would be something to be extremely happy about even without a trip to the Super Bowl. This is, after all, a rebuilding year with a rookie head coach and many new faces in all facets of the organization. That usually does not equate to a Super Bowl trophy. The way that they have been able to start, however, should equate to an AFC West Championship. Anything less, to me, is a huge disappointment, considering the great start.
I have no fears that Broncos are going to collapse. This is a different team. They are going to lose some games this season. It happens to almost every single team every single year. Three straight games at home will give them plenty of opportunity to rebound.
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