On a damp-and-dreary Halloween afternoon when 11,755 disgruntled fans dressed up as empty seats, the Broncos filled the void in the stadium with passionate cheers for a Hall of Fame quarterback who could restore hope to this downtrodden and clueless NFL franchise.
Make yourself at home, Peyton Manning. Keep your eyes peeled on the cellphone for a call from Jay-Z, Jeff Bezos or any potential buyer of the team.
These Broncos desperately need you to lead their revival, PFM.
“I’m a Broncos fan. I haven’t missed a game,” Manning said Sunday when the Broncos inducted him into the Ring of Fame and beat the Washington Football Team 17-10 in spite of themselves. “We want to win. I’m disappointed when we don’t win. But I’m all in.”
All in? OK, let’s go!
Could I get an endorsement from Broncos Country for my nomination of Manning as the team’s next president of football operations, with a minority ownership stake to make it clear he’s in charge of hiring a bold general manager, firing a struggling coach and finding the elite quarterback to do his legacy proud?
“There’s some people who have called me and said: ‘Hey, what do you think is going to happen with the Broncos? Are you going to try to own the team?’ I keep looking for that $3 billion in my pocket,” said Manning, searching his sport coat for dramatic effect. “I can’t find it. I think it’s in a hidden account somewhere.”
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is introduced as the latest member of the team’s Ring of Fame during halftime against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. Manning won a Super Bowl as well as an MVP as the Broncos quarterback.
A retired quarterback who still controls the message with the same “Omaha, Omaha” command he displayed at the line of scrimmage made it clear he hasn’t entered into a formal business relationship with any potential buyer.
“I have no relationship or agreement with anybody,” said Manning, adding that even if asked to join an ownership group, he’s not certain he would accept the invitation.
Hey, I believe PFM. He does nothing unless it’s on his terms, with an optimal chance of success.
But I also would bet the bottom dollar of Bezos’ $195 billion fortune that any business mogul purchasing the Broncos would be crazy to leave Manning off the executive team entrusted with reshaping the vision of a franchise whose ideas feel as stale and worn-out as an “In Elway We Trust” T-shirt from the 1990s.
The most frightening sight this Halloween? The 11,755 no-shows who couldn’t find anyone to buy their tickets. That doesn’t happen in Broncos Country, not this early in the season unless the faithful have stopped believing.
Those 11,755 empty seats shouted a vote of no-confidence in coach Vic Fangio and screamed for change. Can you blame the disgruntled peeps for staying at home in their comfies? Watching a tilt between Washington’s “F” is for “Futile” Team and your Broncos, whose offense is the brainchild of Pat “Short of the Sticks” Shurmur, had all the appeal of flossing teeth.
It’s a tedious chore, at best. And at worst? Absolutely painful.
“It’s like watching the Broncos play the Broncos,” grumped fan Paul Yeanoplos of Littleton.
Against the one NFL team that might be more messed up than Denver, the Broncos tried giving away victory in the final minute of the fourth quarter, with a fumble by running back Melvin Gordon forcing the defense to bail out an offense that has worked nonstop to establish its brand as lame.
“It was awful,” coach Vic Fangio admitted.
Manning does not do awful. He refuses to play scared. In case you’ve forgotten PFM’s affinity for explosive, unrelenting offense, maybe here’s where I should mention that his son Marshall and fellow 10-year-olds coached by the Hall of Fame quarterback recently won a flag football game 72-6.
True to his Type A nature, Manning choreographed every word of thanks and each wave of the hand during his halftime induction ceremony as meticulously as if he was directing the Bolshoi Ballet. For the grand finale, PFM planned to recreate his touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley during that unforgettable 24-point comeback victory against the Chargers in 2012.
But even a master puppeteer sometimes discovers a loose string. Before taking the field, Manning realized a 45-year-old Hall of Famer attempting to throw a 30-yard pass in an orange sport coat might result in a pass that could embarrassingly fall IN-COM-PLETE.
So PFM sought out a certified Broncomaniac in the stands, asking a die-hard fan with purple hair if he could borrow her No. 18 jersey.
Geared up properly, how was PFM’s throw to Stokley? Perfect.
After the crowd went wild, Manning quietly returned the borrowed uniform to the rightful owner, but not before scrawling his autograph on it as a keepsake.
For those of you keeping score at home, the scoring strike from Manning to Stokley matched the number of TD passes thrown by Teddy Bridgewater in the first half of any game this season.
Although these are hard times in Broncos Country, I found something Sunday that made me smile outside the stadium. It was a handmade sign by a 15-year-old girl that declared: Peyton! My Mom named me after you!
“How good is that? I feel like a cool person sometimes,” Peyton Wilson told me, “having the same name as a Hall of Fame quarterback.”
The heart of Broncomania will never die.
But Broncos Country cries out for a new brain of the operation.
Think PFM could help?
