In 1960, the city of Denver would have an AFL team, the Denver Broncos. Like many teams, early on they struggled. But their struggle would continue for thirteen seasons, constantly disappointing Denver Broncos ticket holding fans with their lackluster seasons. Since then though, that period of history has been put on the back burner. The Denver Broncos have won ten division titles and have participated in six Super Bowls since that disappointing time.
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The rise of the Denver Broncos franchise really started in 1983 when the team picked up legendary John Elway. Elway was previously drafted by the Colts and refused to play for the team, demanding a trade. With Elway on board, the team finally had the pillar they needed to build around. Before Elway's addition to the Denver Broncos, ticket sales were poor due to the teams having 24 quarterbacks in the previous 23 years.
Elway's addition to the team had an impact right away. With Elway leading the team, the Denver Broncos managed to win three AFC West titles in his first 5 years. But when it came to the Super Bowl, the Broncos just couldn't pull it together. Elway led the team to the big game three times during the 1980's but the team just couldn't pull it together enough to win. Finally, in the twilight of Elway's career, he would win his Super Bowl ring, not only once, but twice consecutively in 1997 and 1998. During the 1998 Super Bowl, Elway was named MVP. This would be the last game of his career. What a way to go out. Denver Broncos ticket holders finally had a team they could be proud of.
When Elway left the team, he left a gaping hole. The Denver Broncos ticket holding fans would suffer as the team struggled through quarterback after quarterback. The fans expected another Elway, so when Brian Griese and Jake Plummer were brought on board as quarterbacks then played less than stellar games, the fans essentially ran them out of town.
Then in 2006, the Denver Broncos ticket holders would be treated to someone who is the closest thing to Elway that the team has had the pleasure of working with. Jay Cutler was drafted and had been developing nicely as a quarterback since. Unfortunately, tensions between Cutler and Mike Shanahan’s replacement, Josh McDaniels, led to his departure via a controversial trade with the Chicago Bears.
The Denver Broncos chose the system over the talent after trading away Cutler. This leaves the team with Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback in a new system designed by new head coach Josh McDaniels. The Denver D will have to improve drastically as Orton does not have nearly the arm to put up the kind of points given up last season.