{"id":1311516,"date":"2019-06-17T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-06-17T23:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T05:00:00","slug":"broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos to honor Bowlen in myriad ways in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.7707808564232\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-981548-225\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team&#8217;s headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team&#8217;s headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-1.jpg\" alt=\"John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"15\">\n<p><strong>Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team&#8217;s headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/Broncos_Bowlen_Tribute_Football_40076-edc29-2.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">ENGLEWOOD, Colo. \u2014 The Denver Broncos are planning several ways to honor team owner Pat Bowlen , who died last week at 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer\u2019s just two months shy of his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Renaming their stadium in his honor isn\u2019t one of those.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The team has lacked a naming rights partner for several years, and an online effort pushed by Broncos broadcast partner Orange &amp; Blue 760 called for fans to sign a petition asking the team to rename the stadium \u201cPat Bowlen Field at Mile High.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI don\u2019t think he would want that. So, I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to do that,\u201d team president and CEO Joe Ellis said Monday. \u201cWe\u2019ve honored him with a statue, with a Ring of Fame pillar, his plaque on the Ring of Fame. We\u2019ll do some things this season to honor him. But if we were to put his name on the stadium, I can remember him when he knew I was off-track saying, \u2018Joe, just a second.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAnd I think that would be his reaction. Probably there are people who would disagree, and I respect that. But for now that is not something that would be in our plans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The team will hold a public tribute Tuesday at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s kind of cool, we\u2019re setting up a museum walkway that has a lot of his personal and Broncos memorabilia, and then at the end of the line is a tribute to him where members of the public can pay their respects to his family,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cAll family members will be there tomorrow between the hours of 10 and 3. I\u2019m looking forward to it. It\u2019ll be a nice send-off for Pat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ellis said the Broncos also will wear an orange and blue \u201cMr. B.\u201d decal on their helmets this season. Bowlen\u2019s memory also will be honored before the regular-season home opener against Chicago and again in October on the same day fellow Hall of Fame inductee Champ Bailey is added to the team\u2019s Ring of Honor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ellis said it was important to give fans that chance because so few can attend the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 3.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He said the public outpouring of support from fellow owners, former players and coaches and from fans is proof that the team made the right call in putting together the five-hour public stadium tribute, which will be followed by a private funeral next Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In reflecting on Bowlen\u2019s legacy, Ellis called him \u201ca really good friend, a great mentor, and he was a great boss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ellis said that although Bowlen was famously shy and known publicly as a man of few words, \u201cI\u2019ve got to tell you he was a great communicator,\u201d one who would check in often whenever he was away on league business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe just loved to stay in touch. He needed to know what was going on and what that did for me was let me know that he was paying attention,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe ran this football team with his heart and not his pocketbook,\u201d said general manager John Elway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That was something Ellis could attest to.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe wanted to rip up everybody\u2019s contract all the time to give them more money,\u201d Ellis said, laughing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ellis said Bowlen\u2019s widow, Annabel, who also is suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s, visited team headquarters Friday afternoon shortly after her husband died. \u201cShe just wanted to see Pat\u2019s office,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ownership of the franchise is held in a trust Bowlen set up more than a decade ago in hopes one of his seven children will one day run the team. Although daughter Brittany is hoping to one day take over, the succession plan and the trustees\u2019 oversight of Bowlen\u2019s estate has been challenged in state district court in the last year by some members of the Bowlen family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cNothing has changed,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cPat prepared himself for this day, planned ahead for this day. The trustees are going to follow Pat\u2019s plan. I\u2019m going to carry out what Pat asked me to do and honor what he asked me to do and that\u2019s really as much as I would say at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Elway said nothing changes from his perspective, either.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019ve got 100 percent trust in what the trust is doing and the plan that Joe\u2019s put together and the plan that Pat put together knowing this was coming down. I\u2019ve got 100 percent confidence that this organization is going to continue to stand on its feet. Whatever direction that may be, it\u2019ll be the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Elway did allow that Bowlen\u2019s death reinforces the urgency for him to reverse the slide that took the Broncos from Super Bowl champs three years ago to a team that posted double digit losses each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cNo. 1, we\u2019ve got to get it turned around, and No. 2, with Pat, thinking about Pat, it\u2019s his memory,\u201d Elway said. \u201cThere\u2019s no question there\u2019s more motivation to get this thing turned around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/arniestapleton\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/twitter.com\/arniestapleton<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">More AP NFL: <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/tag\/NFL\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/tag\/NFL<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP%E2%80%94NFL\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP\u2014NFL<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/broncos-to-honor-bowlen-in-myriad-ways-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of team owner Pat Bowlen during a news conference Monday, June 17, 2019, at the NFL football team&#8217;s headquarters in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)AP | AP John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos, talks about the death of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1311516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 06:12:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311516\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}