The Monday Mommy: Colorado’s Curse of The One & Done
“Folks were basically gathering up their chairs, selecting spots on the parade route and putting in their PTO days to plan accordingly. The Super Bowl was a done deal in the minds of Bronco Country because the team had given us no reason to think anything other than total domination in the post season.”
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The year 2013 has not been kind to Colorado Sports Teams.
It started out innocently enough and actually on a huge high with the Broncos just finishing out the regular 2012 season with their 11th straight win, and 13th overall. The somewhat risky and expensive acquisition of Peyton Manning had proven to be an enormous success and Denver was sailing into the post season as the number one seed coming out of the AFC.
After a well deserved bye-week for the first playoff round, the Broncos were slated to take on the Baltimore Ravens, a team that they had already faced in Week 15 and dominated on both sides of the ball. The final score in that regular season matchup was 34-17, with Denver easily handling the AFC North opponent.
The Broncos had been playing so well down the stretch that the thought of losing in that first playoff game barely crossed the minds of fans. Yeah, we knew it was always a possibility, but Peyton Manning had that offense so in tune and on point that there was no way they could falter. Defensively, Von Miller was a sack machine and the secondary was just plucking the ball away from opposing quarterbacks like it was their job. Well, technically it was their job but you get the point.
Folks were basically gathering up their chairs, selecting spots on the parade route and putting in their PTO days to plan accordingly. The Super Bowl was a done deal in the minds of Bronco Country because the team had given us no reason to think anything other than total domination in the post season.
Well, we all know how it panned out. The Broncos picked the worst possible time to collectively play the most horrific football of the season. That’s right. No one was safe from really awful football execution on the field that January day. Well, maybe with the exception if Trindon Holliday and Wesley Woodyard.
Some blame the weather, and yes it was extremely cold, however: I blame the curse. I’m not sure who placed this evil over the Mile High City and when it was actually conceived but I am now convinced it exists.
I am unsure of the official name given by the evil sorcerer, however, I have dubbed it the “Curse of the One and Done”.
The Mammoth, Colorado’s own lacrosse team even felt the wrath of evil this season. Faced with a must-win situation in their last regular season game against Minnesota, the Mammoth came out victorious and earned a spot in the NLL playoffs.
It should come as no surprise to anyone, based on the tone of this article, that the Mammoth came up short in that first playoff game, losing to the Calgary Roughnecks 15-10, and eliminating Colorado from the postseason.
The Denver Nuggets also seemed to have been extremely vulnerable to the curse. After a record-setting regular season with a 57-25 campaign complete with a 15 game win streak and only three losses on their home court, they managed to repeat history yet again. For nine out of the last 10 seasons, the Nuggets have lost in the first round of the playoffs.
With the exception of the 2008-2009 season where they made it to the Western Conference Finals, Denver has managed to bumble the first postseason series and be eliminated, regardless of their opponent every year since 2003.
Some people want to blame Nuggets Head Coach George Karl for the losses as he is the common denominator, and have been calling for his head or firing. Others simply think he should step down and leave the job to a new up and comer in the NBA coaching world.
I however, blame the curse. What else would take a team that was so impressive down the stretch and so consistent on their home court throughout the regular season and turn them into a defenseless, no free throw shooting pile of mush against Golden State?
What I want to make clear is that we should be proud of these teams for actually getting to the post season in their respective sports. Making it through the regular season gauntlet in the fashion with which both the Broncos and Nuggets did this year was downright impressive. As fan bases go, Coloradans should be aware that it can be much worse.
Ask the folks in Cleveland or Charlotte how it feels to perennially come up short of even making the post season? As fans of Colorado sports teams, we do have many things to be proud of in 2013, yet still have a right to feel cheated and frustrated by the curse.
I beg of you, whomever placed this evil vex upon the state of Colorado, please free us from it. The fans from the Mile High City and surrounding towns are good people. They are mostly loyal, true aficionados of sports and will gladly adhere to whatever your demands may be.
Perhaps a nice sacrifice will help the cause? The Broncos have already given up Elvis Dumervil in a manner that can be only classified as odd or curse-like. Will that be enough? Only time will tell.
Looks like the Rockies are the only horse we have in the race for now. Let’s see what they can do to change fate and free the Rocky Mountain Region from impending playoff doom.
That is, if they can actually get there.
