The Broncos like to symbolically celebrate unearned rewards, do it again
Feb 2, 2023, 1:40 PM
The Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the glamour celebrity golf tournament of the year. This is the event where Groundhog Day star Bill Murray dresses in outlandish get-ups and flirts with wealthy socialites on the rope line. The humor is gobbled up quicker than Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Feb. 2.
The tournament, held on the exquisitely beautiful Monterey Peninsula, is breathtaking in its scope in terms of views and privilege. To be one of the chosen few in society that are invited to participate in this event is to be culturally dapped on the shoulder by the sword of ultimate acceptance. There is no doubt a sign of being one of the Masters of the Universe is a bag tag bearing the likeness of Lone Cypress.
This is exactly why newly minted Denver Broncos CEO Greg Penner should not be playing in this event in 2023.
Is it a big deal that he is making the rounds through the spectacular oceanside fairways and putting on the iconic seventh hole? On the surface—no. This is a billionaire’s playground and Penner has accumulated the wealth to be on the monkey bars. However, this year is different. It would’ve meant much more if Penner was logging in superficial office hours at Broncos headquarters rather than horsing around with Carl Spackler from Caddyshack.
The Broncos head coaching search went longer than expected, but securing the highly coveted Sean Payton made it worth the wait. The news trickled in around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Surely, a welcome to Denver moment was in the midst? Surely, after a prolonged search, Payton and crew would be getting right to work. Surely, the humiliation of the season that forced a mid-season firing of first-year head coach Nathanial Hackett would ensure that there would be no confusion whatsoever of priorities. Right?!?
FORE!!!
Well, you know, let’s just wait until Monday. It looks like Murray may be playing his ball out of some loaded ladies purse. Goodness! How did it get there?!? Hey Patrick Reed says it’s a clean drop. Oh, the HILARITY!
No, it’s not a big deal that Penner is in the tournament. It just looks like another shrug your shoulders moment of “how serious are these guys about the Broncos winning?”
Listen, if the contract was signed, if Payton had done his press rounds, if everything was completely locked down, then it would look like you had eared a golfing victory lap. Similar to taking a day off on the last day of mandatory Mini-camp in June for a planned elementary school-like field day event and getting Thanksgiving off because a day to eat turkey trumps your regular preparations for a game, the Broncos like to symbolically celebrate unearned rewards.
You know who has earned the right to smack the crap out of the ball alongside Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters? Josh Kroenke! Not only is Kroenke related to the Waltons (his mom is Broncos owner Robson Walton’s first cousin, Walton’s daughter Carrie is Penner’s wife which makes Josh and Greg—uh—well—cousins-in-law?)
Kroenke is also a kindred spirit in Denver pro sports ownership! The President of the Nuggets and the Avs, has no reason NOT to be there. His hockey team is the defending Stanley Cup champs. His basketball team is first in the Western Conference by three games with the two-time defending MVP and a coaching staff that will oversee one team at this month’s NBA All-Star Game. Heck, the Mammoth, his indoor lacrosse team, won a championship last season. Let’s not forget, Arsenal, his English Premiere League team is in first place! The Rams are still reigning NFL champs. The Rapids… um, we’ll leave them out of this one. But you want to talk about somebody who can bask in the glow of accomplishment, it leans heavily towards the Kroenke side of the Wal-Mart empire not the Penner side. As art reflects life, golf reflects sports ownership success as Kroenke is the group immediately in front of Penner. That irony is, well, delicious.
I’m not trying to pile on Penner. After all, fellow Broncos owner Condoleezza Rice is also playing in the same tournament. Along with Penner and general manager George Paton, Rice was the other hiring voice in the room during the entire coaching search process.
Here’s a big takeaway, it’s been made clear that there were time frames that did matter. There were deadlines that had to be met. I mean, get that deal done with the Saints in time for the Gulfstream to make it to the Monterey Regional Airport. We don’t want to miss out on the practice round! We can get back to work on Monday. After all it’s been seven years of missing the playoffs, a weekend away certainly won’t matter.
There were questions about why the Walton-Penner Ownership Group even wanted to buy the Broncos in the first place. They immediately became the wealthiest owners in the NFL by a mile. They had shown zero interest in sports ownership throughout their famously successful careers. Was this a toy or was it serious business?
Penner said at the time of Hackett’s firing, “I want to personally apologize to our fans and all of Broncos Country. We know that we need to be better, and we will… As owners, it’s incumbent on us to have high expectations, set a high standard, and ensure there is accountability.”
Brave and bold words.
Like most unsuccessful diets, I guess we’ll wait until Monday to start.
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