The Bye-Week Buzz

Greetings “Bye-Week” fans! I hope you all were able to fill your week with Broncos excitement even though we did not have a game this past Sunday. Though the week is not complete without a Sunday game, I am a big fan of the bye week because it allows our team to rest and assess what changes need to be made for the rest of the season. And the great news is that the Broncos tend to do very well after a week off the gridiron! Now, I must warn you that I am what some may consider a “crazy fan” — but I prefer to think of myself as a diehard fan! I have loved football since I was six years old, and every season I seem to get more and more involved. I think that knowing the history of the Broncos is not only exciting, but always comes in handy when opposing fans are trying to challenge your knowledge! So to start off this week’s blog, let’s go over a little Broncos trivia that may come in handy this Sunday!

Did you know???

-the Broncos record after a bye week is 15-4 since 1990, which ties for the best record in the NFL with Minnesota and Philadelphia

-We are 10-3 after a bye week under Coach Shanahan and have won the post-bye game for the past 5 seasons.

-AND, the Broncos own a better winning percentage (63-34) in the games played after their bye week than games played before (64-38) since the bye was introduced in 1990. I’d say we are in pretty good shape right now!

In spirit of this past week being a week off of football, I thought I’d touch on a huge aspect of what the cheerleaders do off the field, by sharing with you what I did last Saturday. Community involvement is incredibly important to our team, and we take great pride and joy in our involvement throughout the Denver community. As a team, we dedicated more than 1,500 hours of community involvement throughout 85 Colorado organizations last year, and we hope to log in even more hours this year! A new organization that we have become involved with this year is Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976, and since then has built nearly 300,000 homes for more than 1.5 million who are in need of shelter. Every weekend starting in August, two or three cheerleaders have been helping to build a home for a family in Aurora. Saturday was my first time at the site, and I was simply in awe. The jobs for this weekend were insulating the crawl space, caulking, painting, and nailing in parts of the roof. Kim Hidalgo was with me this weekend, and we were ready to get to work as soon as we arrived! We eagerly strapped on our tool belts, hard hats, and protective glasses and got down to business. Our day started at 9 a.m. and ended around 4:30 p.m., and boy did the time fly! We were having such a wonderful time with the other volunteers and working on our projects that we couldn’t believe it when the day was over. We had a great time all day, and the best part was feeling that we made a difference in someone’s life.

We were fortunate enough to meet Stephanie, the woman who will be living in the new home as well as one of her three daughters, Raven. Stephanie worked on the house all day with us, and has been doing so since the beginning. We learned that the individuals who receive homes from Habitat for Humanity must log in at least 100 hours of work into building their own home and 150 hours of building other homes. I think that this is one of the reasons why Habitat is such a special program. By actively building their own homes, these homeowners will be able to take such immense pride in their house and will treasure it so much more than if it was built without their help. They are also able to make lasting friendships with other people in their community who are in their same situation. Habitat definitely brings communities together in a very special and unique way.

After being a cheerleader for four incredible seasons, I have felt the impact of community involvement and can’t imagine my life without it. The special thing about giving to others is that not only do you make an impact in their lives, but they have such a profound impact on you. I have learned so much about myself through the amazing members of the Denver community and am so grateful for every moment spent with them. Getting involved in charities and civic work is an incredibly uplifting experience that benefits so many people, including you! So the next time you are hanging out when the Broncos aren’t playing, find a nearby place to volunteer, and I guarantee you will feel inspired, grateful, and absolutely awesome afterwards!

Thanks for reading my blog, and hope to hear from you all! And LET’S GO BRONCOS!!!

-Romi (10/28/08)