Thank You, Pat

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to professional sports, there are few people and players for that matter that you instantly think of when it comes to a certain team. The sports world is always evolving and changing, so much in fact it is not uncommon to see a few jerseys present in your stadium of players no longer with the team.

Yes, this is an era of no loyalty just business, yet there are a few names in sports that are recognizable as the team and in this town it's a well known fact you can't have the Denver Broncos without Owner Pat Bowlen.  That is until today, for today was a stunner in Broncos Country.  

It was announced that Mister Bowlen will be stepping down as CEO of the Denver Broncos, due to the fact that he is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and can no longer handle the day to day duties of running the Denver Broncos organization.  COO Joe Ellis, another long time staple here in Denver will slide into the CEO role.  

This is one tough announcement.  Because as I said before, Pat Bowlen was more than just an Owner who sat high in his office to survey his little cash cow, he WAS the Broncos.  He believed in this franchise day in and day out. Winning was everything to Pat.  In fact I cannot think of a game I've ever watched where he isn't prowling the sidelines in the last two minutes.

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This is a man who bought this storied franchise with one goal in mind...success, and oh boy did he bring it to this town.  In his tenure as owner of the Denver Broncos the franchise has seen 11 AFC West Division Championships, 6 AFC Championship titles, 6 Super Bowl Appearances and most importantly 2 Super Bowl Championships.  

Excellence is all that Pat Bowlen stood for and as painful as it is to know he has a tough battle ahead with this crippling disease, I don't want to say goodbye to the man.  I think we all know, since word is the family will still be involved in ownership, that we will see Pat floating around, but in the shadows and in many ways that's how Pat handled the day to day operations of the Denver Broncos on any given day. So if anything, since I have been a lifelong fan, the only thing I can offer to Pat Bowlen on this day is the best of wishes, and my many thanks for his dedication, his leadership and his drive to make this franchise the best in the NFL.  Thank you Pat Bowlen, you will be missed.  

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