Rockies Motivated By Broncos Success
By Mark Haas
DENVER (CBS4)- When the Broncos paraded through the streets of downtown Denver celebrating their third Super Bowl title, the Rockies couldn't help but wish it was a sea of purple.
"To see someone do it in Denver it makes you a little jealous," says Rockies 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado. "It makes me hungry, I would love to have those fans come out for us and celebrate us."
Not everyone would admit to being jealous of the Broncos, as the Rockies are certainly happy for their cross-town friends and would love to duplicate their success.
"It gives you motivation, you want to do the same thing," says Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. "What they did was awesome and I am a big Broncos fan because I started watching football in Denver and the city deserves it and we hope we can do the same thing for them."
"When I was at LSU the football team won the national championship and we saw those guys living it up," says Rockies 2nd baseman D.J. LeMahieu. "And now the success the Broncos are having is driving us too."
LeMahieu's Tiger's baseball team won the 2009 national title about 18 months after the LSU football team won the 2007 national championship, but it's doubtful the Rockies are just a season away from being a World Series contender.
"People talk about the expectations and anytime you can raise the bar that is a good thing," says Rockies manager Walt Weiss. "We need higher standards and so maybe we should compare ourselves to world champions."
Ok let's compare: In the past 30 years, the Broncos have had just five losing seasons; the Rockies have had five losing seasons in a row.
"We are not here to lose," says Rockies G.M. Jeff Bridich. "There is not a nuclear rebuild going on right now, we are here to win and get better."
To be fair, when the broncos won Super Bowl 33, it took them 15 years to get back to the big game, and 17 to win another title. It's been six seasons since the Rockies made the playoffs, and eight since they made the World Series.
"We have been thinking about this since 2007 and how cool it would be to get back to that stage," says Bridich. "We have gotten side tracked and fallen on hard times and we are rebounding from that and we will, but who knows when that will be."
And Bridich insists the commitment to winning exists within the Rockies organization, and promises it will happen under his watch.
"We will get back to the playoffs and to winning and when we do we hope it ends in a parade."
Mark Haas is a sports anchor/reporter for CBS4. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook.
