Orange Denver and Green Bay play Sunday night in another momentous game. Pat Bowlen will be honored in absentia, but his strength and spirit will envelop the stadium.
The Broncos' guardian always has been addressed affectionately as "Mr. B" — Bowlen — by everyone in the organization.
In reality, "Mr. B" stands for Mr. Bronco.
Mr. Bronco has been overseeing the Broncos during the past four of the franchise's six decades. He detested the word "owner," he once told me, because the Broncos actually belong to the people of Denver and Colorado, and he was entrusted to respect and protect that public trust doctrine.