Pep Talk: "Rally With Others"

“Mark, many people are really disheartened.”

Yep. The woman emailing me about the Broncos’ blowout loss to Seattle in the Super Bowl is correct. Many are dejected. Wondering, “What the heck just happened?”

Trust me, nobody’s asking that question more than the Broncos organization. Seattle is damn good but the Seahawks are not THAT much better than Denver.

The game reminded me so much of Super Bowl XXIV, in New Orleans, 24 years ago. I was a young sports guy working for CBS4 in Denver. It was my responsibility to cover the “49ers” angle the week leading up to the game at the Superdome. I reported from New Orleans throughout the week with stories about the San Francisco crew led by Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott and many other stars. There was no shortage of stories to tell from the heavily-favored 49er angle. Also, one of my favorite stories shared in live Pep Talks presentations about “Going For It” comes from this assignment.

The game was never close. Tons of San Francisco and Denver media were shifted from the main press box - it’s the Super Bowl - to seats in the rafters of the Superdome. The game, which the Niners won 55-10, was over quickly. It became a running joke among the gathered media that the dudes, and just a few ladies back around 1990 venturing into sports locker rooms, bursting into the 49ers celebratory sanctuary had a real easy job.

Meanwhile, for journalists wandering into the tomb of despair known as the Broncos’ locker room, well, that’s where you earn your pay in the business. It ain’t always easy.

I’ve been in many a place like that. In sports, and in life.

There are times of great joy. When you think, “Yes, I’ve finally done, experienced, enjoyed - fill in the blank. Moments of exhilaration. In writing this, I paused for a second to look up the definition of exhilaration. Oxford describes it as, “to make very happy or lively.” I love that!

Can you imagine? More moments in life that allow us to experience abundant happiness and liveliness? Bartender, one of those for EVERYBODY in this place!

Sorry, I digress. Back to the story. Life brings us great joy. Check with the Seahawks and their followers. Life brings us great disappointment. See Denver and the Bronco Nation.

Unfortunately, it’s just the way life is. It does not go according to plan very often, does it? The Denver Broncos worked their butts of all year. The list of obstacles was formidable: Season-ending injuries, frightening illnesses and mind-boggling buffoonery from players and front-office personnel.  The organization stayed united and fought through all the adversity in impressive fashion. Admirable.

But it all ended with a crushing defeat.

Kinda like life, ain’t it? Work your butt off for a marriage, career, community cause, child, friend or anybody/anything I’ve forgotten and then it just crumbles before your eyes. The dreams and goals vaporized. It sucks.

Life is a roller coaster. Stuff like this happens. Usually, just when we can least afford the spiritual, mental, physical and financial effort required to prevail against what ails. The million-dollar question becomes, “How do we deal with devastation?”

Well, this is just an idea from a simple dude from Missouri. Take a cue from a guy who also attended the University of Missouri. He’s a trusted advisor. When talking about dealing with devastation, my buddy Billy Mac from Hackensack likes to suggest, “We gotta lie there for a bit and bleed. But eventually, we must rise, dust ourselves off and continue to march.”

Amen to that. For the Broncos, it must be, “What can we learn from this to become better next year?” It’s the same question we must ask ourselves when we’ve been blindsided by the unexpected. What are we gonna learn from it? 

I can promise you this. The Broncos will go back to work getting better. As long as John Elway’s in charge, you can hang your hat on that. What about us? It’s okay to lie down and bleed a bit after a setback, but eventually we gotta rise and fight another day.

Dealing with devastation. The venues change - sports, home, work and elsewhere - but the strategies for turning lemons into margaritas remains the same. Become a student, not victim, of the experience, understand we’re not alone, connect with like-minded folks and encourage one another to rise above in a healthy and productive manner.

Dealing with devastation ain’t easy. Don’t do it alone. Rally with others!