Bumbling Broncos shouldn’t distract from our championship culture

The Denver Broncos are a proud franchise with a great history.

Three Lombardi Trophies are evidence of that, and they’ll hoist a fourth, fifth and sixth at some point.

The problem is that’s not going to be anytime soon.

Not when the team enters the 2024 season almost assuredly without a proven QB. Debating the decision to likely move on from Russell Wilson is a different topic for a different day, but NFL teams don’t win championships without a top player at the most important position in sports.

If it’s a rookie, that’ll excite fans. But even if his ceiling is similar to C.J. Stroud in Houston, the Broncos aren’t winning a Super Bowl next season. Stroud was awesome in 2023, but it all came crashing down in a playoff loss to the Ravens in which the Texans offense could do absolutely nothing.

Those growing pains are part of the process. Luckily for Houston they’ve begun them and had a wildly successful season. If Denver gets a Round 1 QB, the clock has only just started ticking come May of this year.

And if it’s a veteran, who could possibly lead them to a title that they could also afford? Cutting Wilson is going to result in more than $80 million in dead cap money. Whether that’s spread out over one or two years, they’re not going to be able to sign a big name. You can check off Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, simply because paying them their asking price isn’t going to be possible in salary cap purgatory.

But just because the Broncos are frustrating, it shouldn’t distract from Denver’s championship culture. We’re really, really lucky to be sports fans in this town.

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. The Nuggets won the NBA Title in 2023. Both have shots of throwing parades yet again this summer, something we can’t lose sight of.

You don’t need me to tell you Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player on Earth, trending toward becoming an all-time great. Or that Nathan MacKinnon is hunting his first Hart Trophy as MVP of the NHL. It’s an honor he’s been wrongfully passed on in previous seasons. Hopefully the voters get it right this year.

The Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl, and just got their hearts ripped out again by the Chiefs. The Buffalo Sabres have never won a Stanley Cup. Imagine waking up a sports fan in that city today? It’d be rough.

That’s why even if the Broncos are your favorite team, it’s time to appreciate the Nuggets and Avalanche even more. They have all-time great players who suit up 82 times a year, then dazzle in the postseason. They have head coaches in Michael Malone and Jared Bednar who both have rings. Each man was questioned if he was right for the job, and both delivered in the most critical of times.

Going 16-4 in the playoffs is a near impossible task. The Avalanche and Nuggets did it in back-to-back years. We can’t let another frustrating football season distract how much fun it is to root for Denver sports teams.

The odds say neither team will win a title this year. Reaching the mountaintop in the NBA and NHL is a monumental task. But they both know how to do it, and the journeys this spring and summer should be a blast to watch.

It’s all about perspective. And as a sports fan, it’s easy to lose it when your favorite football team just missed the playoffs for an eighth straight year.

But we’re also firmly in the glory years for the Nuggets and Avs. And knowing Denver could capture two more titles in the next six months should put a smile on even the most pessimistic person’s face.