Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With Pat Bowlen announcing his days of running the Broncos is officially over last week, it marked the end of a successful era for him and the Broncos. It also marked the end of a great run for owners who understood the value of running a sports franchise. It was a sad day in so many respects when the announcement was made.
Despite Bowlen’s health issues, it’s still sad to see him not be involved anymore. He took pride of being a Broncos owner. He was a guy that cared for players. He made winning a religion. He was a football guy that had respect for the game. He always valued the fans by putting on a good product year after year. He treated employees like family whether it’s players, front office staff, coaches and all. He is everything Rockies owner Dick Monfort is not.
Bowlen is one of the best owners the NFL ever had. Not only should he be in the Broncos Ring of Fame, but he should be in the NFL’s Hall of Fame. All he did was win as a Broncos owner. His two championships, his 300 wins and his team’s six Super Bowl appearances validate his success as an NFL owner. He should be appreciated not only by Broncos fans, but football fans around the world. He was one of a kind that is going to be missed.
Owners like Bowlen are a dying breed. Now, there are too many horrible owners that run sports franchises. Most of them don’t care about winning. Most of them don’t know how to run a sports team. Most of them only care about making money.
In Denver, there is a baseball team in town that has an owner who doesn’t get it. Monfort has no idea how to run a sports team. He is not inclined to fire his baseball people despite the fact the Rockies are about to embarked on their fourth losing season in a row. He does not seem to care with him all about making money. He has expressed his anger to fans for being negative about the Rockies by saying if they don’t like the product, don’t come.
Who knows about Josh Kroenke? He got it right hiring Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy to run the Avalanche, and the team had success by making the playoffs this season for the first time in three years. The Avs finally have direction that has been lacking for years. Plus, they have young talent that can eventually win the Stanley Cup. As for the Nuggets, the jury is out on Tim Connelly and Brian Shaw being the men that can make the basketball team be like a great team like the Spurs.
In other towns, there are owners who are too hands-on. It’s their right since they paid billions to buy a sports franchise. With that said, it’s not a right way to go if they don’t know anything about the sport. They are paying good money for general managers to figure it out, and they should let them do their job. That’s not the case with owners wanting credit for turning the team around.
Plus, it seems owners run into foul trouble with the law whether it’s fraud charges, drunk driving and others.
There is more bad news with today’s sports owners. Most of them are crooks at best that uses fans’ money, and they keep it to themselves rather than improve the team. They are never transparent when it comes to making moves that affect them. They don’t treat players well as they treat them like indentured servants rather than loyal employees. Monfort is one of those guys. Don’t expect anything to change.
Owners like Bowlen are now a throwback. Those guys will be remembered for the good old days where it was all about sports and winning. They were the fans’ ideal sports owners.
Bowlen left a great legacy for the Broncos that will be left for ages. Even if he did not have Super Bowl championships to show for it, that would never change. Those two championships validated a special run he has had. Maybe he can get a third one this season. It would be something if Broncos boss John Elway would say “This one’s for Pat” after putting all his heart and soul for the Broncos.
It defines the Broncos owner well that he did not make a public announcement about him being done as an owner. It’s the way he wanted it. He did not want a fanfare. He did not want this to be about him. This is what he is all about. He never wanted to be the center of attention during his time as a Broncos owner, which is something pro sports owners can’t say.
He was great to Colorado and the NFL. He will be missed for sure.
Fortunately, the Broncos are in good hands with Elway and Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis , so there will not be an issue about what happens now that Bowlen is no longer owning the team.
It won’t be the same without watching Bowlen looking over the Broncos.
The NFL, sports and Colorado lost an oldie but a goodie.
Bowlen’s departure ends the reign of sports owners with integrity.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro: @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
