I counted the people surrounding Head Coach Mike Shanahan at his opening camp press conference, and there were 51 members of the press in attendance at that time.
Generally when the numbers are that high, it suggests a large number of national press (from outside Denver) in attendance. The fact that everyone in that group was local/regional only makes the high number stand out more.
Of course, the Broncos remain as the number one sports story in Denver pretty much all the time, certainly during the period from camp through season’s end, but also when something big happens in the offseason.
Still, this is remarkable considering that so many things have changed in the last 15 years — we now have a major league baseball team, a hockey team, a soccer team, along with developing sports such as professional lacrosse.
With that change in the landscape, one might expect that the Broncos’ share of the pie should be shrinking. But it seems as if there are two pies, the never-changing, ever expanding Bronco pie, and the other pie, which is being split up various ways.
Of course, three obvious factors are at play here: the Broncos were the first major league team, giving them a head start on the region’s heartstrings; the Broncos have had the most home wins in football over the last 34 years, and we all know that everyone loves a winner; and the Broncos play football in the NFL, which has been singled out as America’s favorite sport and league in every major poll taken since the late 1960’s.
There is one other less understood dynamic at play; that is, the more that is added to a mix, the more valuable the single greatest entity becomes.
Using players as an example, John Elway was one of if not the greatest quarterback in the game during his career. But if the NFL had been expanded by 10 teams, or 50, or 100, that would have added countless more players to the game, but it only would have emphasized the value of Elway. He would not have multiplied into more than one player, hence his own situation would have gained even more status.
And that is probably true with press coverage of the Broncos. If through the position of the NFL on the national landscape and the consistent high performance of the team within that cosmos, the relative position either stays the same or actually increases in stature.
Anyway, we are in day four of camp, including the reporting day, and we continue to have a heck of a lot media members here.
Every day we have the AP along with six other newspapers, eight TV stations, along with several radio stations–and of course, many of these organizations also are posting on various internet sites.
And I certainly agree with the assessment that the Broncos will give them plenty to write and talk about as the 2007 season comes upon us.
Until next time, thanks for reading!
Tags: John Elway, Mike Shanahan, Training Camp
As is the case with the Broncos in other areas, I think alot of it has to do with how “media friendly” the Broncos are as an organization. The Broncos could easily turn all the limelight into a negative but they do not, and for that I am eternally grateful!
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Whether the BRoncos were the 1st or the last pro team in Colorado, the simple fact is that football is a far better sport to watch than anything else out there. As soon as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Basemen have to TACKLE the runner to stop him from advancing, I’ll watch.
Brian in Evans