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Broncos!: The Team That Makes Miracles Happen
Book by Sahadi, Lou
238 pages, Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 1978
3 people want to read
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January 15, 2017
1977 was a miraculous season for the Denver Broncos and Bronco fans. Founded in 1960 as one of the original franchises in the American Football League (which later merged with the older and more established National Football League), the Broncos were cellar-dwellers through most of the 1960s. The team finally began to improve in the early 1970s, but couldn't quite make it to the playoffs, much less rise to the status of a true contender. By 1976, the attitude of many long-suffering Bronco fans toward the team had turned rancid, despite a 9-5 record that season. Quarterback Steve Ramsey practically was ridden out of town on a rail, head coach John Ralston followed him after a group of core players revolted, and Red Miller was hired as the new coach.
Then, in 1977, everything came together. The team opened the season with six consecutive victories, including a blowout win over the hated Oakland Raiders. They finished the season with a 12-2 record, tied for the best in the league, and followed that up with a victory over the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers and another win over the Raiders in the playoffs before their cinderella season ended with a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
When the team began winning, and people started believing, the entire city, it seemed, exploded in delirium. The Broncos' stout defense was nicknamed the "Orange Crush," and pretty soon it seemed everyone was wearing an "orange crush" t-shirt. (I still have mine stored somewhere.) Even after the Broncos suffered a near-blowout loss in the Super Bowl, something like 25,000 people met the team at the airport (this being back in the days when non-ticketed persons could meet arriving flights at the gate) and cheered for their heroes. That never had happened before in any city, and I don't think it's happened since then, either.
This book provides an enjoyable walk down memory lane. After providing a brief overview of the team's futile history, the book covers each game during that magical season (most of which I remembered after the book had jogged my memory). It may have improved the book to include a little more information on the team's colorful but futile history, which set the stage for that incredible season, and the city-wide "Broncomania" which was so fun to live through does not receive enough attention. The book also doesn't acknowledge the source of its title - a novelty country-music song written and sung by fullback Jon Keyworth which informally was adopted as the team's anthem and earned regular airtime on several Denver radio stations. On the whole, though, reading this book was an enjoyable exercise in nostalgia.
Since 1977, history has reversed, and the Broncos have been winners for the most part. Indeed, since John Elway joined in the team as a rookie quarterback in 1983, the Broncos have had a better winning percentage than any other team in the four major professional sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball). That's great for Bronco fans. However, younger people who never had to suffer through years of losing also never will experience a season as magical as 1977.
Then, in 1977, everything came together. The team opened the season with six consecutive victories, including a blowout win over the hated Oakland Raiders. They finished the season with a 12-2 record, tied for the best in the league, and followed that up with a victory over the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers and another win over the Raiders in the playoffs before their cinderella season ended with a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
When the team began winning, and people started believing, the entire city, it seemed, exploded in delirium. The Broncos' stout defense was nicknamed the "Orange Crush," and pretty soon it seemed everyone was wearing an "orange crush" t-shirt. (I still have mine stored somewhere.) Even after the Broncos suffered a near-blowout loss in the Super Bowl, something like 25,000 people met the team at the airport (this being back in the days when non-ticketed persons could meet arriving flights at the gate) and cheered for their heroes. That never had happened before in any city, and I don't think it's happened since then, either.
This book provides an enjoyable walk down memory lane. After providing a brief overview of the team's futile history, the book covers each game during that magical season (most of which I remembered after the book had jogged my memory). It may have improved the book to include a little more information on the team's colorful but futile history, which set the stage for that incredible season, and the city-wide "Broncomania" which was so fun to live through does not receive enough attention. The book also doesn't acknowledge the source of its title - a novelty country-music song written and sung by fullback Jon Keyworth which informally was adopted as the team's anthem and earned regular airtime on several Denver radio stations. On the whole, though, reading this book was an enjoyable exercise in nostalgia.
Since 1977, history has reversed, and the Broncos have been winners for the most part. Indeed, since John Elway joined in the team as a rookie quarterback in 1983, the Broncos have had a better winning percentage than any other team in the four major professional sports leagues in North America (NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball). That's great for Bronco fans. However, younger people who never had to suffer through years of losing also never will experience a season as magical as 1977.
Displaying 1 of 1 review