Still Keeping Score

There was a day when it was extremely cool to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles.  I remember, because I was one of them.  We were legion.  The O's always won, they had the best pitching in all of baseball and a defense that was a perennial spectacle of efficiency.  They were so good, so often with a system in place called "The Oriole Way."  Teams at every level all over the country attempted to emulate the pitching, defense and yes, the occasional three-run homer style of baseball played in Baltimore. This quick historical review is how I have to explain things to my kids, who thought I was only joking when I talked about the O's as a powerhouse in Major League Baseball. They spoiled me rotten, those three time World Champions did. They won the Fall Classic in 1966, 1970 and 1983, to go along with six American League Pennants and eight division titles.  They battled among the AL elite, and frequently dispatched the mighty New York Yankees with ease, and ...

I'm not going to paint my house orange and blue, but I understand. My level of Broncomania remains at a semi-sane level, where I can tell you what time it is from a Broncos' clock, or change the channel with my official NFL authorized Broncos' remote control, complete with the horse head logo on it.  And I'm considering finally tracking down the foam Bronco shaped head gear Shannon Sharpe wore a couple times during the championship years. Based purely in Colorado vernacular, I'm a "Transplant" not a "Native." However, my story is not unique, we many who relocated to the state over the last few decades have banded together with the "Natives" to form Broncos Country. My journey from Maryland was a surprise when my Grandmother announced she was moving west.  Her, my Mom, my one brother at the time and two dogs ran the I-70 gauntlet for nearly two thousand road miles to the Mile High City.  That was 1970, and I was five.  But I was al...