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Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado.

Denver Broncos

Orange, navy blue, white[5][6][7]
     

Thunder (live horse)
Miles (costume suit)

Rob Walton[a]

Greg Penner

Damani Leech

George Paton

Sean Payton

The team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and joined the NFL as part of the merger in 1970. The Broncos are currently owned by the Walton-Penner group, and play their home games at Empower Field at Mile High; Denver previously played its home games at Mile High Stadium from its inception in 1960 through the 2000 season.


The Broncos were barely competitive during their 10-year run in the AFL and their first three years in the NFL. They did not have a winning season until 1973 and qualified for their first playoffs in 1977, eventually advancing to Super Bowl XII that season. Since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFL's most successful teams, having suffered only eleven losing seasons.[8] They have won eight AFC Championships (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998, 2013, 2015), and three Super Bowl championships (1997 (XXXII), 1998 (XXXIII), 2015 (50), and share the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses (5 – tied with the New England Patriots). The Broncos have nine primary members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: John Elway, Floyd Little, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey, Steve Atwater, and Randy Gradishar, along with late club owner Pat Bowlen.[9]


According to Forbes, the Broncos are valued at $4.65 billion in July 2022 making them the twelfth most-valuable team in the NFL.[10]

Tim McKernan, a.k.a. , began wearing a barrel in 1977 after making a $10 (equivalent to $50 in 2023) bet with his brother, Scott, that by wearing one he could get on television. McKernan won the bet, and the barrel he had painted to look like an Orange Crush soda can became his signature costume, and resulted in him becoming one of the Broncos' most recognized fans and a popular mascot. McKernan died on December 5, 2009.[135]

Barrel Man

The animated television show , set in Park County, often mentions the Denver Broncos; show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone both grew up in Colorado as devout Broncos fans.[136]

South Park

In season 5 episode Cape Feare, when the family are to be given new identities, Homer imagines himself as John Elway, scoring a (consolation) touchdown against San Francisco. Conversely, in the 1996 episode "You Only Move Twice", Hank Scorpio gives Homer Simpson the Denver Broncos as a thank-you gift for helping him. However, Homer complains that he wanted to own the Dallas Cowboys, as the Broncos team that just arrived are playing very sloppy football on his front lawn (a reference to the team losing four Super Bowl appearances, three by significant margins including Super Bowl XII against Dallas). Incidentally, the Broncos were 13–3 in the 1996 season, and won the Super Bowl the next two seasons. Only two seasons later in the Super Bowl-centric episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", Homer chooses Denver as his Super Bowl XXXIII pick over Moe's choice of the Atlanta Falcons. In the episode, "The Bonfire of the Manatees", Homer picks the Broncos to win the Super Bowl over the Seattle Seahawks. The two teams later did play against each other in Super Bowl XLVIII which aired on Fox, the U.S. home of The Simpsons; but the result was a Seahawks victory instead.

The Simpsons

In the 1979 episode "Hold That Mork", Mork's character, played by Robin Williams, became the first male cheerleader in Broncos' history. As a member of the "Pony Express", he trotted out on the field at Mile High Stadium during an actual Broncos' game vs. the New England Patriots on November 11, 1979. The episode aired exactly two weeks later.[137]

Mork & Mindy

Many former Broncos are now in broadcasting, including , Mark Schlereth, Alfred Williams, Tom Jackson, Ed McCaffrey, Brian Griese, David Diaz-Infante, Terrell Davis and Brandon Stokley. Some former Broncos work in radio, KKFN and KDFD in Denver, Colorado.

Shannon Sharpe

Former tight end and wide receiver has written and published two nonfiction books, Slow Getting Up[138] and Fantasy Man.[139] His writing about the NFL has appeared in Slate,[140] Deadspin,[141] The Daily Beast,[142] The New York Times,[143] The Wall Street Journal,[144] and BuzzFeed,[145] among others. Jackson also co-hosts the Caveman Poet Society.[146]

Nate Jackson

Dater, Adrian (2007) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Denver Broncos: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Denver Broncos History. Triumph Books.  1-57243-975-0

ISBN

Frei, Terry (2009) '77: Denver, The Broncos, and A Coming of Age . Taylor Trade Publishing.  1-58979-213-0

ISBN

and Dater, Adrian (2008) Then Morton Said to Elway...: The Best Denver Broncos Stories Ever Told, Triumph Books. ISBN 1-60078-121-7

Morton, Craig

Saccomano, Jim (2007) Game of My Life: Denver Broncos: Memorable Stories of Broncos Football. Sports Publishing LLC.  1-59670-091-2

ISBN

Saccomano, Jim and (2009) Denver Broncos: The Complete Illustrated History. MBI Publishing Company, ISBN 0-7603-3476-5

Elway, John

Sandler, Michael (2007) John Elway and the Denver Broncos: Super Bowl XXXIII. Bearport Publishing Company.  1-59716-536-0

ISBN

Stewart, Mark (2006)The Denver Broncos. Norwood House Press.  1-59953-066-X

ISBN

Zimmer, Larry (2004) Denver Broncos: Colorful Tales of the Orange and Blue. Globe Pequot Press.  0-7627-2766-7

ISBN

Notes


Further reading

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Official website

at the National Football League official website

Denver Broncos