This Is Broncos Country!

I don’t get a lot of notes in my mailbox at church.  When I do, they’re usually pretty entertaining.  This past week – before the Super Bowl – a hand-written note showed up one day, and all it said was:

“This is Broncos Country!  You live in Colorado now.  Time to cheer for the right team.  Go Broncos!”

This person was wise to the fact that my wife and I cheer for the Seahawks, whose coronation as world champions of football just happened Sunday night amid the scenic vistas of East Rutherford, New Jersey.  And yes, we were definitely cheering for our team last night, but not in the way some (like the note-writer) might expect.

By the way – I was disinclined to follow his advice. 

Here’s why: moving to a new place is disorienting, to say the least.  We moved from the very green (and often grey) Pacific Northwest to the arid beauty of western Colorado’s browns and blue skies.  Regardless of color change, the last thing a devoted sports fan will do is simply adopt the native team in their new location.  Sports is about loyalty, not about jumping on the bandwagon.

A lot of nice people said a lot of Broncos-positive comments on Sunday morning of the Super Bowl.  Some anticipated a Seahawks loss and said so.  No problem for the Fletchers; that kind of talk is just going to happen when your team makes it to the big game.  As Seahawks fans in non-Seattle territory, we’ve learned to be respectful and keep our enthusiasm to ourselves.  Again, this part of being a sports fan; you show respect to the team where you live by keeping your loyalty to the team you really love, remembering that the natives’ team is just as beloved as your own.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Once game-time rolled around, our family met up with a friends at – of course – a very Bronco-friendly location.  Again, no big deal.  Jill and I agreed that we would cheer for our team in subtle ways to show respect to our hosts.  And for the most part, I think we succeeded.  You’d have to ask our hosts if we were civil enough to warrant an invitation to next year’s Super Bowl.

Then the long-awaited moment arrived, and the game began with a bang.  It was exhilarating.  We were thrilled to see the Seahawks play at such a high level of excellence, and yet, we were also aware of the grey blanket of sadness quickly covering over the rest of the room.  Our Broncos-loving friends were silent after the safety 12 seconds into the game.  They were deflated by the interceptions, the spot-on tackles, and the ever-growing sense that victory was slipping like sand through their team’s fingers.  That’s a terrible feeling as a sports fan.  I watched my beloved Texas Longhorns play a perfect football season in 2009 only to be obliterated by Alabama in the painful national title game.  It’s a feeling in your gut that you just can’t shut off, and we knew our friends were in the midst of that on Sunday.

After the game, a Seattle friend of mine pointed out that the Broncos actually did show up to play.  They were prepared and well-coached.  They have a living legend as their quarterback.  It’s just that they hadn’t faced a defense playing at the level of the Seahawks all season.  Back here in Grand Junction, our friends – along with the rest of Broncos nation – were disappointed and hurt by the lopsided game we all witnessed.  But I think they’d probably agree with my friend’s assessment.  Of course, that doesn’t make the hurt go away.  As sports fans, my family and I certainly felt a sense of empathy for our friends dressed in orange and blue, both Sunday night and this week as the SportsCenter highlight reels rolled and commentators began to pick both teams apart.

I’m proud to say that as Seahawks fans, we love Colorado and love our Broncos friends.  That’s why we kept our cool on Sunday night – and will hopefully continue to do that throughout the weeks and months and years to come.  As exciting as it was to see Russell Wilson lift the Lombardi trophy over his head amid a huge cumulus cloud of green and blue confetti, we held our cheers until we were in the car, driving away from our friends’ house into the cold, cold night. 

Someone in town was shooting off fireworks.