There is just over 48 hours before the Denver Broncos begin the 2024 season. And I can’t wait.
In just under a month, the Colorado Rockies will conclude their 2024 season. And I bet they can’t wait.
The Broncos will begin their newest “new” era on Sunday. Since going to Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season, things haven’t been as Broncomania as they once were. The Broncos haven’t made the playoffs in eight seasons, the longest stretch in the franchise’s NFL history. They haven’t had a winning season since 2016. They’ve gone plenty of new directions, but none of them have worked.
Across the ol’ Valley Highway, and just up Blake Street, the Rockies are in the process of wrapping up yet another dismal season. Barring a miracle, 2024 will be the second season in a row in which the Rockies finish with a winning percentage of less than .400. It’s also their sixth-straight losing season. Their playoff drought is actually shorter than the Broncos, as the local nine visited the postseason in both 2017 and 2018, seasons in which they won at a .537 and .558 clip respectively.
Believe it or not, the Rockies have a better winning percentage – .414 – since their last winning season than the Broncos – who come in at a paltry .373. On paper, one might argue that the Rockies have been a slightly “better” franchise than the Broncos; realistically, they’ve been “less bad.” The Rockies play in one of baseball’s crown jewels. The Broncos “fill-in-the-blank” stadium is in need of revitalization (at a minimum).
Yet, these two Denver franchises could not be viewed more differently.
In short, Rockies fans – if there are such beings left – have reached complete indifference. Broncos fans, who have never left, are chomping at the bit.
What’s happening at 20th and Blake?
In truth, the Rockies have young players – Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, for example – who represent some of the best up-and-coming talent in the game. The Broncos have Bo Nix, who’s unproven, and a roster that’s in the midst of a rebuild. The Rockies will not make the playoffs; the Broncos will most likely not make the playoffs. But again, Broncos fans could not be more excited, while those who follow the Rockies are complacently disinterested – and will most likely be that way when April 2025 rolls around, too.
It’s true that Denver has always been a football town. The Broncos had a 33-year head start on the Rockies. But it’s not like the Rockies haven’t captured the imagination of the entire region. Their attendance at old Mile High Stadium was just the beginning; Rocktober showed what was truly possible. Explaining the difference between the Broncos and Rockies – two recently awful teams – cannot be so easily explained.
Fans ‘round here are smart.
They know the difference between effort and the kind of bullsh*t the Monforts used to shovel out of their Greeley feedlots.
The Broncos have been dreadful, but you know what? They’ve tried.
The last time the Rockies “tried” might have been when they hired Bud Black or when Jeff Bridich decided to increase the height of the outfield fence.
You can like George Paton or not, but at least you know his name. Can you name the Rockies general manager? You can like Black as a guy – I do – but you can’t really explain why he’s still the skipper. They might have liked whacky Nathaniel Hackett, but nobody associated with the orange and blue would allow him to last an entire season.
In professional sports, winning is the only thing that ultimately matters. But sports fans in these parts can identify owners who give a damn and owners that don’t.
The Broncos have fumbled and bumbled – from Vance Joseph, George Paton and Nathaniel Hackett to Paxton Lynch and Russell Wilson – but they’ve never once been okay with losing. Perhaps they’ve bungled a lot of decisions, but they’ve never accepted losing.
To be fair, the Rockies are not cheap. That’s too easy of an accusation. In fact, Colorado’s payroll ranks 16th among all MLB teams, smack dab in the middle. They’re not the Yankees or Dodgers (and never will be), but they’re far from the A’s, Rays or Tigers. They just make one bad decision – including making no decision – after another.
The difference, though, is that the Broncos are willing to eat the final three years of Russell Wilson’s $240 million contract simply to move on. The Rockies? They’re willing to keep placing Kris Bryant, who’s scheduled to make $27 million for the next four seasons, on the injured list. Wilson, an unsuccessful signing, started 30 games in two seasons for the Broncos. Bryant has only played in 37 for the Rockies this season. Wilson wasn’t great and was shown the door; Bryant has been unreliable at best and never good but will – if you ask anyone – be back in Scottsdale for Spring Training 2025.
The Broncos have the longest sellout streak in the NFL. The Rockies will likely finish their 2024 campaign with approximately 100,000 fewer attendees than the season before, about 500,000 fewer than the last season they made the postseason, and 1.5 million fewer than their inaugural season of 1993.
The Rockies and Broncos may share the same town, but we know they’re on different planets But with similar records of futility lately, how are these two franchises perceived so differently?
Perhaps a better question: How can the Rockies ownership not notice?
Or care?
