It's the sports equivalent of a midlife crisis for the state of Colorado. After years of executive mismanagement, we're trying to relive our glory years (or in the case of the Rockies, the "OHMYGODWEHAVEABASEBALLTEAM!!!!" years). Our problem is that Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, John Elway, Dante Bichette, Walt Weiss, and Vinny Castilla are in fact, walking through that door. They're just old and creaky.
Denver Broncos
What we think we're getting
The Broncos of the early 1990's were like the Bills, but less successful. John Elway dragged a mediocre offense (run by Dan Reeves, he was like Marty Schottenheimer, but less of a risk taker) to the playoffs year after year and only experienced heartbreak up until the back end of his career (unless they ran up against the Browns, then Cleveland's bad karma won). In 1998, Elway won what most thought was his last opportunity at a title against the league MVP who doubled as the current possessor of the QB championship belt. Terrell Davis and the Bronco offensive line did the heavy lifting with 157 rushing yards and a Super Bowl record 3 TDs, #7 simply needed to control the game with his emotion and will. As Elway was being carried off with confetti bursting all around him, Denver celebrated like never before. We watched the man who put Denver on the map as a professional sports town win his first title in what everyone thought was his last game.
Elway surprised everyone and came back for one more season, and all he did was win his first 13 games in a row, commanded one of the 10 greatest offenses of all time (+TD2K), and capped his career by manning (:-D) the 6th franchise to ever win back to back Super Bowls (while dominating his last game en route to being named MVP). This all happened one season after losing one of the most painful games in Bronco history. And yes, I'm desperately hoping that Jacoby Jones will become this decade's Mark Brunell.
What we're really getting
An old, all time great quarterback surrounded by a fantastic offensive line, anchored by one of the best linemen in the league, three top notch offensive weapons, and a very strong defense lead by one of the best players in the NFL. So John Elway took over the Broncos and turned them into...the 1996-1999 Broncos minus Terrell Davis, plus Von Miller. OK, this is legitimately weird. Denver, we need to talk about this. If Montee Ball rushes for 2,000 yards does that mean we think that Bill Clinton gets to be President again? If not him, at the very least...oh...right. OK Colorado, we're not the problem. We're one example of the problem. But it doesn't matter because the Broncos are Super Bowl contenders. All feels right with the world when football matters in the shadow of the Rockies.
Colorado Rockies
What we think we're getting
The 1990's were not marked by extreme success for the Rockies. They compiled a .473 winning percentage from their inception in 1993 to the end of the decade. This included a three year stretch of winning records and one playoff appearance (...in a strike-shortened season...winning the wild card...by 1 game...it doesn't count). Ask any Rockies fan to recall the 90's, and they'll remember the first at bat at the old Mile High Stadium (a stadium in which we set the MLB attendance record, a record which still stands today and will forever unless they start playing baseball in football stadiums again or if Oakland averages 56k per game) countless football scores, Dante Bichette's christening of Coors Field, and a lot of really bad teams with no pitching whatsoever. It's almost like the Rockies are rewarding the people who helped the state lose its MLB virginity.
What we're really getting
A stacked lineup with very little pitching to speak of...wait...Denver, are you serious? OK, this isn't a fair criticism. Except for a couple years in 07 and 09 and a half season where Ubaldo Jimenez turned into Bob Gibson, the Rockies have always had terrible pitching, and since Coors' outfield takes up 80% of our 8th largest state, the Rockies will always have a good offense. They're not going through a midlife crisis; this is a recurring theme within their history. The Rox are the heroin addict of the Denver sports scene. We know what the problem is. They know what the problem is. But no one seems to be able to fix it. At least Cargo-Tulo-Fowler-Rosario-Arenado has a chance to be better than the Blake Street Bombers (because Cargo > Walker > Tulo > Castilla = Galarraga = Bichette = Cuddeyer). There's even a built-in gimmicky nickname with this new crew: Two Point "O."
If the Rockies could find three starters they could depend on for 200 innings, they would be a difficult postseason matchup because of their lineup and solid 7th (Belisle), 8th (Brothers), and 9th (Betancourt) guys. Sadly, they have a grand total of zero starting pitchers who can be described as "reliable." And until that changes, this team will always be somewhere other than a baseball field come October.
Colorado Avalanche
What we think we're getting
The Colorado Avalanche are to Quebec what the Oklahoma City Thunder are to Seattle, with a few exceptions (two of which are probably related):
1. The Avalanche won a title in their first season (two total).
2. They found a rival (more like a mortal enemy who's face you wanted to melt off, and in Claude Lemeiux's case, actually attempted to do so).
3. They didn't trade their 3rd Guy (Harden), they traded for him (Roy).
The OKC parallels get deeper when you consider that he Avs had an offensive wizard who wound up being one of the greatest players of all time. Their second banana, Peter Forsberg, had a similar skill level as Sakic (some years, I would argue that it was superior). His play ultimately determined the true ceiling of the team, because no one had enough defense to handle those two guys. However, Forsberg's biggest problem wasn't inconsistent play (CoughRussWestbrookCough), it was inconsistent playing time due to a number of foot injuries.
Quebec also received the extra kick to the nuts of watching these young stars in their first couple years before they bolted for greener pastures. Seattle and Quebec should start a support group for cities that have to watch their greatness happen elsewhere. Hartford can join them. Minneapolis too. And as always, Cleveland.
What we're really getting
A very talented offensive team with atrocious defense, inconsistent goaltending, and four building blocks that form a pretty damn good core in Seth Jones or Nate Mackinnon (the consensus #1 picks this year; the best defensive prospect to come into the league since Chris Pronger, and a pure center who can score whenever he wants according to Those Who Know), Ryan O'Reilly (a gritty, two way Patrice Bergeron-esque center who got into an ugly contract dispute this year with management), Gabriel Landeskog, and Matt Duchene.
The latter two bring out the nostalgia in Avs fans. Landy is a smooth skating, highly skilled Swede who loves to draw contact and make plays (please, for the love of God, stay healthy!!), and Duchene almost played goalie because of his admiration for Patrick Roy. He even grew up an Avalanche fan as he tried to emulate Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg on the ice. Seriously. The guy was made in a lab specifically for Denver. It also helps that he's entertaining as hell to watch. He's like a hockey version of Allen Iverson.
The latter two bring out the nostalgia in Avs fans. Landy is a smooth skating, highly skilled Swede who loves to draw contact and make plays (please, for the love of God, stay healthy!!), and Duchene almost played goalie because of his admiration for Patrick Roy. He even grew up an Avalanche fan as he tried to emulate Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg on the ice. Seriously. The guy was made in a lab specifically for Denver. It also helps that he's entertaining as hell to watch. He's like a hockey version of Allen Iverson.
The Avs have perpetually been a "team on the rise" (code name for this) since they drafted Duchene and O'Reilly back in 2009. Adding a piece like Seth Jones or Nate Mackinnon only increases the intensity of that spotlight.* How O'Reilly responds to Roy and Avalanche management at the end of this year will go a long way towards determining the future of this franchise. He's a damn good center, and his grinding style is a perfect complement to Duchene's lightning in a bottle. If the Avs want to hoist another banner to the rafters, they need to hang on to all four of these guys and build some serious depth around them.
*I was going to write a quick note on who I thought the Avs should draft. It turned into something more complex than that. You can read it as its own post here.
*I was going to write a quick note on who I thought the Avs should draft. It turned into something more complex than that. You can read it as its own post here.
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